St Maria's Children
by Bananahara
Summary: For years, the school of St. Maria has been haunted by the spirits of twelve young deceased students who freely roam the hallways without a care. After suddenly posing a great threat to the lives of the current living students; a newbie medium, Hanji Zoe, is called to put an end to things. Will Hanji be able to save the school, or will all hope be lost for St. Maria? AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Hello! I'll be honest, this is only my second story for Attack on Titan. I (kind of) liked how the first one turned out, but I knew that I had a lot to improve on. I hope that I am able to put that knowledge to use while writing this story, and I hope that it will be more enjoyable to you! Please go easy on me, but do not hold back your true feelings!

**Trigger Warnings: **Mentions of blood, violence, death, murder, suicide, and curse words may appear in this fanfiction. Please bare in mind that these all take place in a _school setting_, so if you are triggered by school violence, such as school shootings or stabbings, then you may be triggered by this story.

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><p>Against tiled floors, the unmistakable sound of heeled shoes clacking could be heard. Hanji Zoe, with a young looking face and an energetic smile, bopped down the main entrance of an unfamiliar highschool. Without missing a beat, quick glances were shot from wall to wall, so as to not miss a single detail of the building.<p>

Though the lighting was incredibly dim, it was still just bright enough to see one's surroundings. On the left side of the hallway was a large bulletin board cluttered with sloppily written notes. In bold printing, visible to even those passing quickly by, phrases such as "Join Student Council!" were printed. Few pages that had fallen from the board were now laying quietly on the floor, as if waiting patiently for a stranger to come along and pin them back up where they belonged.

The right side of the hallway featured a long mural that had a very simplistic and abstract design. A mixture of what could be assumed to be the school colours; beige, green, and black, mixed together to create a curious combination of swiveled lines and shapes. If given more time to analyze it, Hanji would likely have tried to extract some sort of meaning from the painting but there was no time to waste.

Almost immediately upon entering the vacant school, Hanji had noted that it had an unusual atmosphere. St. Maria, as it was called, had a long-standing reputation for being home of some of the brightest and most well-behaved students in the district. Though it had been many years since anyone had uttered such a phrase regarding the school. Naturally, the only information Hanji had in relation to the school had been acquired through rumour.

The one thing that all people seemed to agree on was, quite simply, that St. Maria had been plunged into the depths of hell several years ago after the massacre of a class known as 3-B. Hanji knew nothing of this story, only that it was likely to be the reason for being personally called in to the school. Naturally, it could be assumed that some sort of supernatural activity was taking place inside the school. Regardless, Hanji entered the job with an open mind.

"Hanji-san?" A deep, sonorous voice suddenly echoed through the barren hallways.

Hanji practically fell to the floor in a hasty attempt to face the owner of the voice.

Standing at the end of the hallway Hanji had just passed seconds ago was a tall, lean man with wheat blond hair that was neatly parted to the right side of his face. Although he had a serious look, he wore a very kind expression and had a gentle look in his eyes. "Hanji Zoe?"

"Ah! Yes, that's me." Hanji answered a bit awkwardly.

The man looked relieved. "My name is Erwin Smith." he stated, as he casually strode forward. "I'm sorry, my office is a bit hidden so a lot of people don't see it at first. I saw you pass by just now. I hope I didn't startle you too badly."

As if not having been frightened a moment ago, Hanji waved a casual hand. "Of course not! I'm just peachy! It takes more than that to startle a medium, after all!"

Not that Hanji was any ordinary medium. On the contrary, the bouncing brunette was known for causing quite some dramatic shenanigans not without getting the job done, of course.

"Shall we head to my office then?" Erwin smiled gently, as he began to lead the way.

"Lets!" Hanji followed along, with a humble bounce in each step.

Arriving shortly at the office of , Hanji was quite surprised to see that two other men were present. "Oh, friends of yours?"

Erwin gave a short laugh. "I'd like to think that we are." he joked. After receiving only confused glances, he added, "These are some men I wanted you to meet. They also work here."

The first man was one with tremendous height, something notable even while he was sitting. He had long, sandy blond bangs that framed his upper face and curled behind his ears. His face seemed to be well-groomed, with his thinly shaped eyebrows, and neatly trimmed stubble.

"This is Mike Zacharius. He's our first vice-principal." Erwin explained.

Mike stood from his seat and approached Hanji, who held out a hand politely.

"It's so nice to me-" the voice of the medium was cut off by Mike, who had suddenly leaned forward and took in a long, deep breath. He pulled away, as the corner of his lip curled upwards slightly.

"-et you..." Hanjis voice drifted off in startled confusion.

Erwin placed a friendly hand on Hanjis shoulder. "It's a bit of a habit of his, so don't mind it. He means you no harm, I can assure you that much." He stated in a gentle tone. Becoming a bit more serious, he added, "And this man here," he turned Hanjis body to face the second man in the room. "is our second vice principal, Levi."

Unlike the first man, Levi was quite short in stature. Despite this, the build of his body and the structure of his face was altogether masculine. He wore a very serious expression, and behind his thin black bangs he had cold brooding eyes that suggested he had no time for joking around. All told, this man was intimidating in every sense.

"Ah, you have two vice principals?" Hanji asked, while turning to face Erwin.

Erwin nodded his head. "We do. This school is a bit unique, after all." he explained, finally relieving his hand from Hanjis shoulder. "Now, if you'd take a seat, there are some things I'd like for us to discuss."

Hanji was quick to obey Erwin's order, not wanting to delay the conversation any longer. "Please tell me everything right from the beginning!"

"Well," Erwin took a seat at his desk. His laid back demeanor had suddenly been replaced with a sedate, grim one. "There was a particular incident that occurred at this school many years ago. Seventeen years ago, to be precise."

Hanjis gave a small nod while listening.

Erwin continued. "The lives of twelve sophomore students were lost on a cold November night. None of them had yet turned sixteen. The incident is commonly refered to as ' St. Maria's hellish massacre.' But the most horrifying thing about it being," he took a bit of a pause, "Nobody knows what happened that night. There were no survivors, no witnesses, only twelve mysterious corpses that were found the following morning."

Hanji's eyes widened with surprise. "Were there any weapons at the scene? Anything like that?"

"A few." Erwin answered shortly. "Six of the students, half of them exactly, were found with weapons on their person. Even then, only some had appeared to be used. There are some sketches if you'd like to see, but I'll have to warn you that they are quite morbid."

"No, no." Hanji quickly denied. "Actually, preferably, I'd just like to see the spot where this all took place and then I can see everything I'll need to."

Erwin gave careful thought before speaking. "There are a few more things I should mention before we go see it."

"Alright. What is it?"

"Well, actually, to be frank, we've never had to resort to calling a medium here before." Erwin was cautious with every word. "I don't know what kind of things you've dealt with in your career, but I feel like this case might be a bit... unique. You see, up until this point, these have been very peaceful spirits. They remained quiet in the comfort of their own classroom, albeit a few who prefered to wander the hallways, but they had always existed here without any signs of malice until recently. I'm not sure what's going on myself, I don't think anybody is certain, but it seems as if something has suddenly awoken within that otherwise silent classroom. I am quite confident in one fact, though. They intend to witness more blood shed."

The room remained silent after Erwin's chilling words. The one to break this silence would be the man sitting on the left of Hanji, Mike Zacharius.

"You've probably noticed already, but this school is now vacant. That's because, at this moment, it's not a safe place for people to be. There have been a lot of student and staff injuries related to the children of 3-B."

"Oh my. How terrible." Hanji let out a sympathetic sigh. "Well, I hate to rush things but I really would love to check out that classroom. I can't get any work done without getting straight to it, after all."

Erwin stood from his desk. "Of course. Lets go ahead. Levi, Mike, come with us."

The two men stood immediately, and were surprisingly obedient to Erwin's words. Mike exited the room first, and Hanji was eager to follow suit. Levi, however, stayed behind to walk with Erwin. The two men spoke quietly amongst each other.

The walk to the classroom felt oddly long and eerie. The only sounds to be heard were the muffled whisperings of the two men, and the lights flickering above their heads.

Dark blue light illuminated the hallways through the large paneled windows on the right wall. Trees from the schoolyard visibly blew in the wind. The view was oddly chilling, and didn't help to soften the ominous feeling that filled the air.

"Hanji, one thing." Erwin suddenly warned. He approached the medium quietly. "The spirits... Well, some of them are a bit shy about showing themselves, you could say. It's best to approach them with silence and caution."

"Roger that." Hanji nodded with a look of determination. "You can count on me!"

Erwin gave a reassured smile. "I'm glad."

Finally arriving at the classroom marked '3-B', Hanji did not hesitate to rush to the front of the group. With an eager grin, the medium slowly reached for the classroom door handle with visibly shaking hands. Then, with a sudden burst of nervous energy, Hanji burst the door open and shouted, "Hello, children! I am Hanji Zoe!"

Awaiting the group on the other side of the door was nothing more than a dark, empty classroom. Hanji's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Ah man. They're not here."

"Of course not, you idiot." Levi hissed. "Were you not told to be quiet two seconds ago?"

Hanji gave a strained laugh while turning to face the men with a look of apology. "I got a bit too excited, I guess. My bad, I'll b-"

"Excuse me..." A quiet voice suddenly intervened. "I'm sorry, could I please get around you?"

Standing in the middle of the group was someone who was not present seconds ago. The boy was bitty in size, and his fair hair was cut in a short, almost bobbed, style. Judging from his youthful features, and the school uniform he wore, it could be easily assumed that this child was a student of the school.

"Ah. This is Armin Arlert." Erwin interjected. He placed his hands on the boy's shoulder, all while giving Hanji a very stern gaze. "He is one of the students of 3-B."

"One of my students?" Hanji blinked multiple times, and as if suddenly cluing in, added "O-OH. Right. It's so nice to meet you, Armin!"

Hanji extended a hand towards the boy. Armin politely reached forward and shook hands in response. The shock of Armin's extremely cold hand nearly made Hanji jump, but the medium was able to keep a straight face.

"It's nice to meet you too, uhm.." Armin glanced up at Erwin.

Erwin gave the boy a gentle smile. "This is Hanji Zoe, your new teacher."

Armin turned his head to face Hanji again. "That's nice. I'm really happy to meet you, Hanji-san. It's been so long since we've had a teacher in our classroom."

Before getting a chance to respond, a voice suddenly boomed from the vacant classroom. "Armin! Hurry up."

"Oh, that's my friend, Eren. He's in this class too. It was nice to meet you." Armin smiled as he waved goodbye to the four adults. "See you later, Erwin! Ah... I mean, Mr. Smith!"

With that, Armin hurried into the classroom and joined two other students. The first was a boy a bit taller than Armin. His boyish chestnut locks of hair were unkempt and rough. He looked as if he was scolding Armin for talking with outsiders.

The second friend remained silent, and simply stared at the group standing outside the classroom. She was a slender female with dainty facial features and short-cropped black hair. Her body structure looked strong, even through her school uniforms long skirt.

"You're quite familiar with these students, aren't you?" Hanji asked Erwin after a moment's silence.

"More or less." Erwin answered flatly. "You can enter the classroom, I'm sure they won't mind."

Deciding to listen to the mans words, Hanji took a few cautious steps into the classroom. All at once, the conversation that had been taking place inside suddenly halted. The three teenagers stared at Hanji with blank eyes.

Only a few steps behind, Erwin, Mike, and Levi also entered the room.

Hanji wasted no time in surveying the classroom. In every sense, it was an ordinary room. Nothing about it stood out in particular. At the front of the room was a large chalkboard that was so clean that it was almost as if it had never been used. Rows of desks filled the center of the room all the way to the back, where a single cabinet stood. The only thing that stood out was the large padlock that kept the cabinet closed.

With hesitance, Hanji moved gaze from the back of the room. It held a very unsettling, haunting aura that the medium didn't particularly like. Regardless, it was time to move on to the rest of the room.

Catching Hanjis attention in particular were two mysterious slender silhouettes sitting just outside the classroom window. The figures appeared to be ever-so transparent, making it hard to distinguish any specific features. The one thing that was clear, however, was that these two had female forms.

The two female formed spirits remained silent, and sat completely still. Deciding it best not to disturb the two in such a peaceful state, Hanji turned to face Erwin, Levi, and Mike.

"Well then, I've had a nice good look at this room, so why don't we head back?"

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><p>A half hour had passed since the visit to 3-B's classroom. Night was breaking into dawn just outside the window of Erwins office. The group was silent, save for the occasional sound of someone sipping at their tea.<p>

Breaking the silence, in a very irritated tone, had been the most silent patron until this point, Levi. "You're not a very good medium, are you?"

A moment of silence passed. Hanji looked around at everyone in the room, until gaze fell upon Levi once again. "You mean me?"

"Who else in the room could I possibly say that line to?" Levi retorted.

"Oh." Hanji responded in surprise. "I can assure you that I certainly am a genuine medium."

"Yeah?" Levi leaned forward, a look of boredom on his face. "Why couldn't you detect Arlert, then? You should have been able to feel his presence if you're a medium. But you haven't actually done a single thing all night, despite having run into five of the twelve kids."

"Well..." Hanji's voice drifted for a moment, before continuing. "Erwin was right. These are quite unusual spirits. They conceal themselves so well. After all, they've had seventeen years practice."

Levi sat back in his seat and sighed. "Even so.. This is your profession, is it not? We called you for results, but you've done nothing useful thus far. How can we be so sure that you're not just one of those cult freaks obsessed with snooping into this case?"

"Levi, please." Erwin cut in. "Lets be a bit more polite to Hanji. It's an unusual case, so it might take some time."

"It's okay." Hanji smiled gently, teacup in hand. "I do have some things I'd like to say, and maybe in turn, I'll end up proving that I do have some usefulness."

"By all means, please tell us." Erwin urged.

"Well, it's related to something you'd mentioned to me earlier. You'd asked if I'd wanted to see the sketches of the crime scene weapons." Hanji began to explain. "That's because the actual crime scene photographs kept getting destroyed, isn't it? And then all crime scene evidence related to the case suddenly disappeared over night."

All eyes in the room widened. "That's right." Erwin responded. "You were able to sense that without being told? That's very protected information."

"Yes, I could feel it. But that's not my entire point. I was able to learn a bit more. The truth is that-" Hanji was cut off by a very instant chill down their back.

Immediately, the mediums eyes widened. "Something is...!" the words were once more cut off, but this time not by choice.

Some sudden force sheathed itself around Hanji's mouth It was not visible to the human eye, but the feeling resembled that of a male human's hand. The shock caused the teacup to fall from the medium's hands.

All three men quickly jumped from their seats. "Hanji?!" Erwin bellowed.

_"What do you want with us?" _a pitchy female voice echoed. Judging by the confused glances of the three men in the room, Hanji could tell instantly that they had not heard the voice.

_"Nothing good comes from snooping. Please leave before you get too far into this. I beg you. This is a warning, and you'd be smart to obey it. This is no place for a person like you!" _

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I hope you all liked the opening chapter for this story! I wonder how many people will notice what "class 3-B" is a reference to. But, of course, you don't have to understand the reference to enjoy this story!

Also I noticed that my mentions of the school name "St. Maria" were erased every time I had written it for some reason. I'm not sure if I managed to put it back in every time, but I hope so. If not, don't hesitate to tell me!

So what do you all look forward to seeing in this story? Anything you don't like? Please don't hesitate to tell me! I always keep every review in mind while writing future chapters, so I'd love to hear any thought you have! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **I updated the previous chapter! Though I didn't add any new material. All I did was correct all of the times that "St. Maria" disappeared. I realized that I forgot two! And one incident where "Mr. Smith" disappeared. I realize now that it's because I forgot a space in between the period and next word, and this website erases those (since they resemble a link!)

**Trigger Warnings: **Mentions of blood, violence, death, murder, suicide, and curse words may appear in this fanfiction. Please bare in mind that these all take place in a _school setting_, so if you are triggered by school violence, such as school shootings or stabbings, then you may be triggered by this story.

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><p>Sunlight rose above the walls of St. Maria, leaking into classroom windows and brightening the hallways with a soft, natural light. A ray of direct light shone into the mysterious vacant classroom of 3-B through the large glass window, and landed at the front of the room. Hanji Zoe, who stood just outside the classroom door, peered through the door window and kept close eye on this light before entering the room.<p>

Just earlier that day, Hanji recalled the close encounter with a spirit in the office of Erwin Smith. The vaguely threatening message had stuck in the medium's mind, leaving a startling impression. Luckily, due to fast acting, Hanji was able to fashion an acceptable response that made the spirit leave. Although it was almost certain that that wouldn't be the last seen of them.

Regardless of this less-than-friendly encounter, Hanji was still determined to meet the spirit of each child. If able to do so, the medium was certain that it would be possible to piece together the story of what happened on the night of Thursday, November 6th, 1997. If verbally communicating could fix things, then it would be the most harmless solution to St. Maria's troubles, and that was the way Hanji preferred to do things.

With a deep breath, Hanji turned the doorknob to the classroom and promptly pushed it open. Without even a second to glance around, the medium was greeted by a sudden thump on the head. A cloud of white dust appeared, and began to dance through the air, encompassing the entire body.

Cluelessly, Hanji reached a hand up towards where the hit had been and discovered a chalkboard eraser contently sitting. The sound of muffled giggling could be heard from the classroom.

"A..Are you okay..!?" Armin, who had witnessed the entire scene, hurried towards Hanji. He pulled a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and dusted the brunette off.

Hanji laughed. "I'm quite fine! Just a harmless little prank on the teacher during their first day."

Armin's eyes widened for a second, but his expression quickly shifted into a smile. "Teacher? You're going to be our new teacher? We haven't had one in so long."

"Yes. Do you not recall us meeting the other day, Armin?" Hanji asked with a confused glance.

After a moment, Armin responded, "No... I'm certain that I would have recalled such a thing."

"I see." Hanji nodded, and smiled apologetically. "I must have just heard so many nice things about you from your principal that I mistakingly thought that we'd met! My bad."

Armin once again smiled. "Mr. Smith said those things about me?"

Deciding to use this as an opportunity to get information, Hanji continued. "Yes, of course. The two of you are close, aren't you?"

"I guess so. Well, after all, he was-" Armin was suddenly cut off.

"Hey, hurry up." Eren's harsh tone stood out amongst the otherwise peaceful conversation.

Armin turned back to Hanji. "Sorry, I have to go. That's Eren, by the way. He might seem a little rude at first, but he's a good kid, I promise." He stated with confidence before turning around and hurrying back to his seat.

Hanji took a moment to pat off the clothing that had been soiled by the chalk erasers dust before moving forward.

Looking around, the medium was able to count six students currently seated in the classroom. Three were boys, and three girls exactly. Hanji had already met two of the boys, Armin and Eren, but the third was one who had remain unseen until this point. He was a tall, lanky boy with short cropped black hair, and freckled cheeks. He had an overall friendly appearance and aura, which was reassuring for the medium.

Out of the three girls, only one of them was familiar. Although nobody had said her name, Hanji recognized the black haired girl that had been in the classroom with Eren and Armin the night before. The other two girls were both short and blonde, but everything else about them appeared to be polar opposite. The first girl, a bit shorter than the other, had soft facial features and a kind, approachable atmosphere. She wore her long hair down, the ends reaching just below her collar bones. The other girl had long bangs, covering half of her harsh looking face. The rest of her hair was pulled back into a messy bun resting just above the nape of her neck. Unlike the first girl, she had an intimidating aura, and refused to make eye contact.

"Hello, students." Hanji greeted, making way to the chalkboard at the front of the room. "My name is Hanji Zoe, but you can call me anything you'd like. Well, as long as it's not four-eyes, that might bring back some bad elementary school memories." The medium attempted to joke.

A few small pity laughs echoed through the room.

Hanji picked up a piece of chalk and brought it to the chalkboard, preparing to write. All at once, before even getting a chance to put any pressure on the chalk, it suddenly snapped in mid-air.

"Oh." Hanji squeaked in surprise. Trying again, the brunette raised another piece of chalk to the board and attempted to write once more.

As it had only seconds earlier, the chalk suddenly snapped before Hanji had even gotten a chance to write anything.

"Ah, I'm sensing something." Hanji's expression suddenly became serious. "I'm... the butt of someone's joke right now, aren't I?" The second phrase was in a joking tone.

Muffled laughter could be heard from the front of the room, and Hanji lightly laughed along. "I'm assuming that these pranksters are classmates of yours?" The question was directed at nobody in particular, but rather the entire class.

"That's Sasha and Connie." Eren answered. "They pull this stuff with people a lot. They don't mean anything by it, though."

"Ah, man. Eren, you totally sold us out." A boy suddenly appeared beside Hanji. He was rather short but had large vivacious eyes, and a buzz cut.

A tall girl appeared beside him. She had long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, and smiled meekly. "S-Sorry. It was all Connie's idea."

"Hey, not cool, Sasha!" Connie exclaimed.

"Now, now!" Hanji cut in. "You should both take your seats, I'd like to get to talk to the class some more."

"Okaaaay." Connie and Sasha groaned in unison as they walked shamefully to their seats.

After waiting a moment for the class to settle down, Hanji's hands clapped together. "Time to get serious, everyone! As I said before, my name is Hanji Zoe, and I'm your new classroom teacher. I understand that some of your classmates didn't show up today, and that's alright. I want this to be a very relaxed classroom."

The medium recalled being in Erwin's office earlier that morning. Before leaving, the man had taken Hanji by the wrist and whispered, "Some of them aren't aware that they're dead. I want you to do your best to make sure that they don't find out, because they might not react well. I'd just like you to act as their teacher, get to know them, and gain their trust. I'm sorry for saying something so weird, but for now, this is what I'd like you to do."

At the time, the order had seemed so peculiar. A medium's job wasn't to be-friend ghosts, was it? It was to contact them, and in extreme cases (as this had apparently been) to get rid of them. Other than the encounter with a ghost in Erwin's office, Hanji hadn't received many bad vibes inside the school.

The spirits did a good job of concealing themselves. Everything from their appearances, to their behaviour, and auras, was the same as any other student. Seventeen years of practice was clearly showing, and it made Hanji's job of detecting spirits all the more difficult.

"I'd like to first start of by having everybody introduce themselves to me, and... lets see... Tell me one fun fact about yourself!" Hanji pointed to Armin, who sat at the front right corner of the room. "Lets start with you, and then go row by row."

Armin nodded his head. He nervously stood from his seat. "My name is Armin Arlert." He stated. "And... Well, I guess I like to read. I'm not sure if that's a very fun fact, though."

"Oh, but of course it is! Reading is very, very fun! Don't you agree, class?" Hanji exclaimed in response.

Nobody answered.

Armin took a seat, and Eren, seated beside him, stood next.

"My name is Eren Jaeger." He said. "And I like soccer, but I'm not allowed to play it anymore, because I get too aggressive."

_Aggressive. _Hanji took a mental note.

Standing next was the black-haired girl that had appeared in the classroom the night before. She stared absent-mindedly at the chalkboard. Her finger twirled in the long, red scarf wrapped around her neck. "Mi...ka...sa..." she groaned. Her voice sounded strained.

Eren stood again. "She's Mikasa Ackerman, and her fact would probably be that she's really insanely strong."

"Can Mikasa not introduce herself?" Hanji asked, with curiosity.

"No." Eren flatly responded.

"Ah.. Then, the next person, please."

The freckled boy stood, his long legs wobbling underneath him like a fawn taking it's first steps. "My name is Marco Bott! I hope to be a police officer one day."

Hanji gave a weak smile. "What a nice goal that is, Marco. Your father is an officer, isn't he?"

Marco's posture stiffened, and his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "You know him?"

"No, no! Just my intuition! I'm great at guessing." Hanji laughed.

"O-Oh." Marco took a deep breath, and then sat down.

The next student hesitated to stand for a moment. Eventually, after all eyes in the room had fallen upon her, the taller of the two blonde girls stood. "My name is Annie Leonhardt." She stated, and then promptly sat back down.

"Ah, no fun fact?" Hanji asked.

Annie shook her head, and stared down at her desk.

"That's fine." Hanji concluded. "Next, please."

The second blonde girl stood. She smiled to her classmates. "My name is Krista..." She paused, "...or, maybe it's Historia.. No, it's Krista... Ah, but.. No, it's Historia... no.."

"She's Krista." Eren said, looking at Hanji.

Hanji nodded to the boy, and then gave Krista a friendly smile. "Alright. That's fine, Krista. Thank you. And finally, our two pranksters."

Connie and Sasha both stood, and then stated in unison;

"I'm Connie, and this is Sasha."

"I'm Sasha, and this is Connie."

They glanced at each other and laughed in amusement.

"We're best friends." Sasha added.

"Yep, ever since we were wetting our pants together back in daycare!" Connie grinned.

"How charming." Hanji laughed along. "So let's see... Armin, Eren, Mikasa, Marco, Annie, Krista, Connie, and Sasha. Is that right?"

Nobody answered, so Hanji just assumed it was a yes.

"Wonderful! Now, let's play some get-to-know-you games!"

* * *

><p>It was the end of class and Hanji was occupied with organizing all of the classroom materials from the front of the room. Not much valuable information had been collected that day. The students acted as any class would, minus a few unusual quirks here and there that the medium had noted, but nothing had really hinted at unraveling the school's mysteries.<p>

Turning around, Hanji hadn't even noticed that someone had been standing there for quite a few moments now.

Hanji let out a startled screech. "Oh, Armin, you scared me." The phrase was followed by a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Did you need something?"

"Um..." Armin paused. "I don't want to beat around the bush, so I'm just going to say it. You're not actually our new teacher, are you?"

Hanji attempted to look calm and collected. "What would make you think that, Armin?"

"Well, in the first place, we didn't really learn anything today." Armin explained. "And you never really specified what topic you teach, either."

"Please rest assured, Armin. I am your new teacher." Hanji placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You can trust me."

"You're..." Armin looked to the ground. "No, I better not say it."

"Say what? You can speak your mind here."

Armin made direct eye contact with Hanji. "You're a medium, aren't you?"

Hanji's eyes widened in surprise.

"I've had this hunch... Some of our classmates are so unusual after all. I thought that maybe they weren't human at all. Normal people don't disappear sometimes the way they do. I... I guess that sounds kind of silly though, doesn't it?"

"It..." Hanji started, but decided against continuing. "Well, who knows? I'm not so sure myself."

Not believing Hanji, Armin continued. "You saw Sasha and Connie today, didn't you? Or rather.. At first, you couldn't see them at all. Normal humans shouldn't posses such abilities? Or am I wrong?"

Hanji glanced around the room, making sure that nobody else was present. No other aura could be sensed, though the students of 3-B didn't seem to posses anyways, so it didn't matter. "Armin, can you keep a secret?"

Armin nodded his head.

"The truth is that I am a medium," Hanji said, "and I've come here to learn more about your class. Could you help me?"

Armin raised an eyebrow. "How would I help you?"

"You could start by telling me everything there is to know about your class. That's pretty simple, no?"

"Yeah, I could do that."

Hanji grinned. "Great! But I'm afraid that now isn't a good time. I've got to meet up with Mr. Smith. Could we discuss this tomorrow?"

Armin nodded. "Of course. I'll do my best to help you, Hanji-san."

"Thank you, Armin."

* * *

><p>The hallways were unlit, as they had been since Hanji arrived, save for the natural light from the outdoors that glistened through the large hallway windows. Getting slightly distracted, the medium stared at the scenery outside.<p>

Everything appeared to be so peaceful outside. The sunshine brought the land to life, and blades of grass danced wistfully in the wind. Seeing this, Hanji couldn't help but wonder.

_Is this the same window that the children used to look out of? As they walked to their classes, as they chatted during lunch? Were they fond of this scenery, or were they impatiently waiting for the day they'd never have to see it again? _

These thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a mysterious sound coming from a nearby classroom. The light, murmured sound of whimpering leaked through the class door, echoing through the hallways ominously.

Hanji stood still and listened intently to the noise. After taking a few steps forward, it was easy to detect which room the sound was coming from. Slowly and cautiously, the medium stuck an ear against the door and listened.

A low-toned voice could be heard, muttering the words, "All better, all better." over and over.

Hanji continued listening to this same voice for a few moments. The whimpering continued, but the low voice spoke different words now. "You're a superhero." The voice said once. The chanting immediately continued. "All better, all better."

The whimpering subsided slightly. A few sniffles were heard, and then, the phrase that Hanji had least been expecting.

"...Someone's here." A new voice stated, presumably the one who had been crying seconds ago.

Without warning, the door was quickly thrust open, and Hanji fell to the ground before even getting time to realize it. The sensation of a foot pressing down could be felt against the brunettes back. "Oww.."

"Who are you?" The more prominent voice demanded an answer.

Looking up, Hanji got a much better view of the burly man. It was apparent, even through his school uniform, that his muscles were thick and bulky. His blond hair was cropped off so short that it was practically a buzz cut, and his eyes, though thin, were full of anger and malice.

"H...Hanji Zoe." The medium laughed nervously. "How do you do?"

The more timid voice spoke up. "Reiner, I don't think this looks like a bad person."

Unlike the first boy, the timid one had a much softer face. He had silky-looking chestnut coloured hair that fell just above his eyebrows. His nose was slightly large, but somehow added to his overall attractiveness. He curled his long legs in towards his chest, hugging them tightly.

The one who had been referred to as Reiner lowered himself and glared directly at Hanji. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah.. Well.." Hanji decided to be honest. "I heard someone crying, and I was worried they might be hurt."

All at once, Reiner changed. A gentle feeling swept through his eyes. His posture loosened, and he smiled lightly while offering Hanji a hand. "My bad. You should have just popped in and said so."

Hanji accepted the offered hand and stood up, brushing off the clothing that had gotten dirty as a result of the fall.

"What's your name?" Hanji asked in the same tone one might use with a small child or animal.

"Bertholdt Hoover." The boy answered, clutching his knees tighter into his chest.

"And yours?" Hanji asked, glancing at Reiner.

Reiner, in his now friendly tone, answered, "Reiner Braun."

"How nice to meet the two of you!" Hanji remained as friendly as possible. "You wouldn't happen to be students of 3-B, would you?"

The two glanced at each other before speaking. Reiner was the one to eventually talk.

"Yeah, we are."

Hanji grinned. "Ah! How perfect. I'm your new teacher, Hanji Zoe. I'm so sorry we didn't get a chance to meet in class today. I'm sure you heard your principal make an announcement about it this morning on the PA system, though."

Reiner and Bertholdt exchanged glances once more.

"We heard." Reiner answered. "We've decided not to go to classes, though."

"Out of curiosity, may I ask why?"

"Why...?" Bertholdt cut in. "Because, it's useless, isn't it?"

Reiner nodded his head. "That's what we've decided."

"I hate to sound like a broken record, but may I ask why?" Hanji raised an eyebrow.

"It's because.. the deciding day is soon." Bertholdt answered.

"Yeah," Reiner started. "We'll be going home. Sorry to be rude, but it's just that we don't have time for classes."

Hanji stared between the two boys for a second. Trying not to pry, the medium spoke. "I'm afraid I'm not following along. The deciding day? Go home? What do you mean?"

The two boys looked at each other once again.

"You'll see." Bertholdt answered quietly. In an even smaller voice, he added, "If you're still here."

"Ahhh, oh my, look at the time!" Hanji swiftly looked at the clock on the wall. "I really have to go now, but it was nice meeting you boys. You're always welcome to join us in class, if you're looking to kill some time."

Hanji waved a hand before leaving. The boys didn't wave back. They simply sat in silence and watched as Hanji left.

Before the door could fully close, the medium could hear the phrase "All better, all better" being chanted once again, but this time both boys were speaking.

"Ahh." Hanji took a deep breath while resting against the closed door. The encounter had definitely been one of the more dangerous ones for the medium, and there were mixed vibes filling the room.

Unsure of what to think of the boys, Hanji continued to walk. Almost immediately, the medium spotted Armin wandering the halls by himself.

"Ah! Armin!" Hanji exclaimed, thinking this would be the perfect time to talk to someone who was familiar with Reiner and Bertholdt. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few things."

Armin gazed intently at Hanji. "...I'm sorry?"

"Remember our secret Armin?" Hanji's head tilted slightly. "I'd like your help, like you said."

"I don't know what you're talking about..." Armin's voice drifted off.

Hanji's eyebrows furrowed. "You said you'd tell me more about the strange behaviour of your classmates."

"Why would I say that..?"

"Because I'm a medium, and you wanted to help me. Remember?"

"M-Medium? Why would a medium be here?"

Hanji's eyes widened slightly. "Because.. Your classmates.." The words had escaped before the medium realized.

Suddenly, Erwin's warning from that morning returned to Hanji's mind.

_"Some of them aren't aware that they're dead. I want you to do your best to make sure that they don't find out, because they might not react well."_

Perhaps he had already predicted that Armin would react in such a way, but it didn't entirely make sense. Hanji and Armin had already discussed this, so why was he pretending that he didn't know? Or did he really not remember? Hanji wasn't sure what was going on, but had a feeling that things were about to get bad.

"My classmates..?" Armin suddenly gasped. He dropped his books to the ground as he covered his mouth with his hands. "Oh my God.. I had a hunch but... but I didn't really think..."

Before Hanji got a chance to respond, Armin had spun around on his heels and raced down the hallways. He didn't dare look behind him, as the medium seemed to have awaken fear inside of the small boy.

Left behind and clueless, Hanji did nothing but watch him as he hurried away.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Ahhh things are getting intense! I hope this is easy to follow. What do you think will happen? Stay tuned for a show-down between Hanji and someone else, the introduction of a new character, and the appearance of our final two ghosts! (As well as the re-appearance of Erwin, Levi, and Mike. I haven't forgotten you three!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **From here on, things really do start to get a little more morbid! Also.. Guys! Please keep in mind that any reviews would be really helpful. Even if you say you want to see more a certain character than I'll do my best to include them more! (I sound a bit desperate, don't I? haha ;;; but really, I could use the feedback!)

**Trigger Warnings: **There _will_ be many mentions of blood, violence, and some fairly gruesome details regarding corpses in this chapter!

* * *

><p>The hallway lights flickered on and off rapidly with hardly a second in between. The sound of heavy breathing filled the air, and grew louder with every coming moment.<p>

Hanji picked up speed, and turned the corner in a different hallway. It could be felt so clearly now; the presence of a spirit was growing stronger, and they weren't bothering to hide it anymore.

With a bang, the lights above suddenly disappeared. Running down the window-less hall, Hanji could hardly see the floor just ahead.

The medium was overflowing with nervous excitement. Of course, it was very possible that this spirit meant harm (infact, that's exactly what it meant) but on the brighter side of things, that also meant that getting to the root of the problem would become easier if Hanji played along correctly. That was because spirits, much like people, tend to speak their minds more freely when they've been angered. So as much of a threat as this was the medium, it was also a chance that couldn't be missed.

"Won't you show me your face? I promise I'm not here to hurt you! Please just let me catch a little glimpse of you!"

The sounds of breathing abruptly halted, and the flickering of the lights seized. The hallways had returned to their usual gloomy darkened state. It was almost as if the earth stood still for what felt like the longest moment ever.

Hanji had stopped running by then, and glanced around the empty hallway while catching a breath. Nothing out of the ordinary appeared, and no more presences could be sensed.

"Ah, and I really thought I was going to meet something interesting." The medium sighed with disappointment.

Without warning, Hanji was suddenly jerked from the shirt collar and swiftly pushed against the wall. The force had been so strong that it knocked the glasses straight off the mediums face. Additionally, the spirit was pushing with all of it's weight forward, making breathing difficult.

"What did you say to Armin?!" The voice was familiar, but much darker than it had been before.

Squinting heavily, Hanji tried with difficulty to see the face of the assailant. The shape was difficult to make out, but it wasn't hard for the medium to guess who it was.

"Eren... Right?" _The aggressive one. The one who tries to prevent Armin from speaking to others._ "Your grip is a little tight... Perhaps we could just discuss this over tea?"

Ignoring Hanji's words, Eren continued. "Why did you try to scare Armin? Why did you say those things to him?!"

"I didn't mean to scare Armin." Hanji spoke slowly and with caution. "I hope you can trust me when I say that I really did not intend to frighten him."

"You made him cry!" Eren continued to bellow.

"...St...op..." Another familiar voice cut in, this time it belonged to a female.

Hanji kept calm, and smiled politely. "Ah, Mikasa, is that you? I'd love to see your face but my glasses seem to have slipped off in the confusion."

"Shut up!" Eren interjected once more, his grip getting tighter around Hanji's collar.

Through Hanji's blurred vision, the blob that was Mikasa had placed a hand on Erens shoulder in an attempt to calm him.

"...Bro...ther..." Mikasa mumbled in a hushed tone.

Unexpectedly, footsteps could be heard less than a few feet away. Perhaps because of all of the excitement, nobody had heard them sooner, but somebody else suddenly spoke.

"What are you kids doing?" It was Levi, whose irritated tone was a surprise to nobody. "Whatever it is, knock it off. Now."

Eren's grip on Hanji loosened slightly, but his breath was still heavy and angered. "Don't ever... Don't ever scare Armin again."

"Did I stutter? Let go of four-eyes." Levi said.

Eren glared back at Hanji for a time, then let his grip go completely. Sunken in defeat, he walked past the two adults without another word. Mikasa followed suit, but not before glancing back at the two and staring a few last moments.

Hanji immediately got on hands and knees and ran a hand across the ground. Stretching reach a bit further, the medium successfully found the fallen pair of eyeglasses and put them back on.

Levi simply watched the show unveiling before him. "I see that you're really getting through to the children. They feel comfortable enough to bully you now."

"Well, I guess high school is the same no matter where you go, huh?" Hanji attempted to joke, while standing.

"You've never dealt with something like this, have you?"

"Bullying? No, I was often an easy target for school yard bullies."

"Idiot, I mean these kinds of spirits."

Hanji turned. "What makes you think so?"

"Well, I'm clearly no medium," Levi said. "But even I know that you're not supposed to remind them that they're dead."

"It's a unique case, after all." Hanji reminded him. "Something like this doesn't just get better overnight. If anything, it will get a lot worse before we get to the real roots."

"That's reassuring." Levi stated.

Hanji gave an understanding nod. "I can tell that you're fond of these children, I can sense that much, but please have a little more faith in my work."

Levi didn't reply.

The two spent the remainder of the walk to Erwin's office in complete silence. Finally arriving, Hanji raised a hand to knock on the door, but had that same hand shoved away by Levi, who simply let himself into the room. Hanji followed behind.

"Levi, Hanji-" Erwin cut himself off. "Oh my, did something happen? You look terrible."

Hanji smiled sheepishly, and attempted to joke an answer, "I thought I looked half decent, but I guess anyone looks terrible next to you, huh?"

Erwin's eyebrows furrowed. "Hanji, I'm being serious. Did someone hurt you?"

"Please don't worry about me." Hanji replied. "There was a bit of a disagreement, but everything worked itself out."

Erwin turned his head to face Levi, who gave a casual shoulder shrug in response.

"Well, anyway. There's somebody here that I wanted you to meet." Erwin continued, turning his attention back to Hanji. "This is Moblit Berner."

All attention was turned towards a man standing in the middle of the room. His plain appearance left very little of an impression, hence why nobody had noticed him until he was pointed out. His ash-blond hair was short, and brushed neatly against his head.

"He was the man who sketched the crime scene photos seventeen years ago, after all of the actual photos continually vanished." Erwin explained. "He was able to visit the crime scene only once, and then return to his home where he drew amazingly accurate sketches of the crime scene and weapons used."

Moblit nodded his head as Erwin spoke. He looked slightly nervous- as if returning to the school after all these years made him feel uneasy.

"It was many years ago, but my memory is still very vivid." Moblit spoke up. "I remember the details so clearly. Even after seeing the classroom all these years later, all I can remember is that horrific scene."

Hanji's eyes immediately lit up. "You saw it? With your own eyes? How wonderful!"

A visible bead of sweat ran down Moblit's forehead. "...Excuse me..?"

"Ah... That came out the wrong way." Hanji gave an apologetic look. "What I meant to say is that I'd like to hold your hands."

Moblit's shifted his confused glance to every person in the room before finally returning his gaze to Hanji. "I...I'm sorry, what?"

"It might seem odd, but mediums work in strange ways. Right, Hanji?" Erwin stated, in an attempt to be helpful.

"Of course!" Hanji chimed in. "Let's sit, get comfortable, and then we can hold hands."

Levi cut in sharply. "You're not here to romance him. Just hurry up and do whatever you're going to do."

"I am doing what I need to." Hanji countered. "It's necessary that Moblit here feels relaxed and has trust in me. Now please, everyone be quiet. Close your eyes, and clear your mind."

With hesitance, Moblit elevated his hands and held them infront of Hanji. He inhaled, exhaled, and closed his eyes as he'd been instructed to do.

The room was completely silent. For Moblit, it felt as if time had stopped completely. He waited with nervous energy for something to happen.

Hanji's hands met with Moblit's, and their fingers became interlocked. "Now, let your breathing match mine. Inhale. One, two, three. Exhale. One, two, three. Keep doing this in absolute silence."

Moblit complied with the commands of the medium. After a moment of this practice, the breathing pattern of the two was the exact same.

Feeling as if in a half-conscious state, a dream-like vision appeared before Hanji's eyes. 3-B's classroom appeared, but in a state unseen to the medium's eyes until that moment.

_The room was coated in dry rustic-coloured blood. Papers and desks were scattered through the entire room, creating a scene of chaos. The bodies of the students filled the room from one side to the other, each with a different mysterious air surrounding them. _

_The first body to be seen in the room was that of Annie Leonhardt's. Even at the end of the hallway, the girls feet could be seen poking out of the doorway. Her corpse appeared to have fallen forward, her face remaining unseen as it rested in a puddle of her own blood. _

_At the front of the room, the bodies of Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover lay perched against the far wall. Bertholdt's bodies had curled into itself, and Reiner's body rested so closely beside that they touched. A sea of red surrounded them, making it hard to determine the source of the bleeding. _

_The body of Mikasa Ackerman was seated in a desk on the far left of the room, in the front row. Her upper body slumped over the desk, with her right arm rested under her head. If it hadn't been for the pool of blood painting the desk a deep red, she would have simply resembled a student who had fallen asleep during a particularly boring lesson. _

_The point of view suddenly shifted to the center of the room, which appeared to have the most activity. The bodies of Armin Arlert, Marco Bott, Eren Jaeger, Krista Lenz, and another girl, whom Hanji hadn't yet met, laid in a cluster. _

_Krista's body looked as if it had fallen backwards on a chair. Her back curled over it, making her head slump downwards towards the opposite wall of the room. Her long hair flowed down to the ground, and rested in a pool of her own blood. _

_At her feet, on the ground, the bodies of Armin, and Marco were close together. Armin laid face first on the ground, the back of his head bleeding profusely. His arms extended forward, and his fingers curled in a clawing position._

_Against the small boy's back, Marco's head was rested on it's side. His long legs bent upwards towards his chest. His hands were clenched into tight fists near his face, unmistakably covered in blood. Resting beside him was a large, yellow baseball bat. Judging by it's chipped paint and worn-out grip, it was rather aged. _

_Closely beside the two, the bodies of Eren, and the unfamiliar girl were only centimeters apart from each other. Eren's body rested on it's back. His cold, lifeless eyes stared blankly at the classroom roof. Injuries resembling stabbing wounds coated his chest and stomach, staining his white uniform shirt in a rustic red. Above his head, a pocket knife sat idly by._

_The unfamiliar girl's body rested beside Eren's. Her dark brown hair was a complete ratted mess, chunks of brain matter and blood tangled into her locks. Her body writhed into an unusual position with her arms clutched onto her stomach tightly, and her left leg tucked upwards, lifting her body slightly above the ground. In the small space between her body and the floor, a small spray bottle rested. _

_The point of view shifted quickly between these bodies for a moment until finally, the gaze landed upon a different body towards the back of the room. This one belonged to a boy that Hanji had yet to meet. His body was slumped backwards over a desk, his face turned towards the classroom door. His hair was two shades of brown, a light tone ontop, and a darker shade by his sideburns and the nape of his neck. Though this fact seemed so irrelevant, as his face had been mutilated beyond recognition. Where his mouth should have been was instead a large, gaping hole, with few of his top teeth still intact. Thick, dark blood oozed from the wound and gushed down the top of his face, creating a large pool on the ground. In his fist, he clutched onto a long piece of white string which was wrapped tightly around his palm. The ends of the string ran onto the ground and dipped into the blood puddle._

_The vision quickly shifted from the body, and gaze fell upon the final two corpses. Sasha Blouse, and Connie Springer. They could be found on the furthest back corner of the room, right beside the tall cabinet. It was notable that the cabinet was left slightly open, and didn't appear to have a lock at the time._

_The side of Connie's face had looked sunken in, as if it had been crushed. He rested on his side, his arms rested limply in front of him. His large eyes were still open, and stared lifelessly at the fallen desk beside him, which was likely the last thing he saw before dying._

_On the contrary, Sasha, who lay beside him, had her eyes shut tightly. A small bit of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. A large, gaping hole ripped it's way through the chest of her white buttoned blouse. As expected, a large amount of blood had poured from the wound, soaking her entire side in her own bodily fluids. Beside these two bodies, two identical revolvers were thrown down._

_The vision quickly began to blur, and few steps were taken back from the gruesome scene. The view suddenly shifted, and the hallway could be seen once again. It was clear that the viewer had reached his limit- that the crime scene had been too much for him to look at. Although he had only looked at each body briefly, it was still long enough to piece together bits of the story._

Moblit's hands were suddenly released. Unsure of whether the practice was over or not, he continued to keep his eyes closed.

"I've seen everything I need to. You can open your eyes now."

Moblit sighed in relief. But his hands began to shake visibly as he lowered them. "So what... What did you see, exactly?"

Hanji displayed a grin. "I saw everything that you saw, Moblit. The morning of November 7th, 1997. The very image that has haunted you all of these years since."

Moblit gulped, then said in a quiet voice, "You saw them... The children's corpses at the scene?"

All eyes in the room went wide in surprise, with the exception Hanji, who wore the same casual smile.

"Is that really what you saw, Hanji? That's incredible." Erwin placed a hand on the medium's shoulder, as he grinned in surprise.

However, not everybody was willing to believe in the abilities of the medium that quickly. Doubt had welled up inside of Levi, who was quick to voice his objections. "How can we be so sure that that's what you saw?"

Hanji looked in Levi's direction and thoughtfully said, "Well, if there's anything I could say to prove myself then I'm confident that I could."

"Then, we just need to ask Hanji a question only somebody who has seen the scene would know the answer to." The words tumbled quickly out of Erwin's mouth. "Tell us, Hanji, which child held string in their hands?"

Hanji's face suddenly fell. "Well.. um.."

"You don't know, do you?" Levi tilted his head slightly.

"Well, it's not that I don't know." Hanji stiffened. "It's just that I haven't actually met that child, but it was definitely a boy... One with two-toned hair."

After a pause, Levi said, "That doesn't really answer anything."

"It's not entirely inaccurate information, though." Erwin objected.

"Sure," Levi said. "But when has this medium actually done anything useful? We've been holed up here for over twenty-four hours, and all this kid has done is told us things we already know."

"Levi," The ever-so quiet Mike protested. "I don't think that we should be arguing at a time like this. We should have faith in Hanji, because we really don't have many choices left."

"I'm not a man who's interested in wasting my time anymore." Levi stated, as he turned to face the door, preparing to leave.

Softly, Hanji began to speak. "That's fine with me. I wouldn't want to trouble anybody that I don't need to. But there is one thing I have to say."

Levi half-turned his body, his glare striking Hanji. "What?"

"You're hiding something. It took me some time to sense it -I'll be the first to admit that I work a little slower than I should- but it suddenly hit me full force. The item you've been hiding from us is currently in your back pocket, isn't it?" Hanji seemed confident in this fact.

Levis brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"I had this strange feeling when I entered the classroom. Some sort of unusual aura was revealing itself from the cabinet in the back of the room." Hanji explained, receiving many confused glances from the others.

Regardless, the brunette continued, "I know I might seem a little crazy for asking this, but you have the key to the silver lock, don't you? The same strange aura from that cabinet is emitting strongly from you."

The room stood in silence.

"The truth is that I didn't want to say anything at first. I was just going to approach you about this when the others weren't around. I don't really like to call people out in front of a group like this but," Hanji's tone lightened up a bit. "You've made me a little bit angry, so now's as good a time as ever to just come clean."

In a critical tone, Levi began to object, "You're mistake-" but Erwin was faster to speak, "Levi, empty your pockets."

Levi slid his hand into the back pocket of his pants, but stopped for a moment. He glanced up at Erwin, then back at Hanji. Reluctantly, he removed an object, and held it in his closed hand.

He fiddled with the object for a second, held it forward, then said, "Here. Take it."

Levi released the object into Hanji's extended hands. It was about the size of the human palm. It was silver in colour, smooth in texture, and had a rounded top and jagged bottom. But no matter how you looked at it, the item was undoubtedly a key.

Erwin's eyebrows raised as soon as he laid eyes on the key. He looked briefly between Levi and the item, a mixed look of surprise and disappointment on his face.

The two men standing off to the sides, Mike and Moblit, reacted quietly to themselves. Mike was better at suppressing his emotions, whereas Moblit sweat visibly.

"I see." Hanji nodded, looking just as surprised as the others, despite having predicted this outcome. "The feeling is the same."

"The feeling might be the same," Erwin repeated, "But we need to test it before we can be sure of anything."

Hanji's head nodded enthusiastically. "Lets do it now. I'm eager to see what's hidden inside."

Erwin was quick to usher everybody out of his office, with new addition Moblit included, but he stopped for a moment to look at Levi. "You come with us, too."

Levi knit his brows. "For the record, I don't know what's in the cabinet or if that's even the real key to it. I just happened to have it."

"I trust you." Erwin replied. His tone was quiet. "But we still need to check it out. If it really is the key then we might be able to figure something out."

"Lets go, then."

* * *

><p>The sun was setting just outside the classroom window, bathing the room with it's soft, orange light. Hanji stood directly in front of the cabinet, key in hand, with Erwin, Levi, Mike, and Moblit standing closely behind.<p>

"Well, here goes." Hanji gulped, plunging the key into the lock.

Silence encompassed the room, and then, a soft clicking noise. Immediately after, the cabinet lock fell into Hanji's hands.

Nobody spoke a word, but it was evident that everybody was thinking the same thing.

_It's a clear match._

"Now to see what sort of a mystery awaits us." Hanji's lips curled into a nervous smile.

Hanji's fingers contorted around the cabinet handles, openly the doors slowly. The piece of furniture was extremely old, and creaked loudly with each movement. On top of that, they'd been shut for so many years that the tops of the doors were rusted tightly to the cabinet roof. The mediums grip grew stronger, and eventually, the doors were forced open.

A strong surge of dust gusted from the cabinet and enveloped the group, causing quite a few coughing fits.

Hanji waved a hand in an attempt to break through the dust cloud. Despite this movement, it still took a moment for the air to clear enough for visibility to return.

Through the faintly clouded air, few cabinet shelves could be seen. As expected, they were filthy and in poor condition. Thick cobwebs spread from side-to-side, over-taking entire shelves, except for two that looked practically untouched.

Everyone stood still, save for Erwin who reached forward and retrieved an item from one of the cleaner shelves. It was a photo, but the image itself was clouded with dust. Erwin ran a sleeve across it in an attempt to clean it up.

Hanji stood tip-toed and peered over Erwins shoulders. "What is it?"

"A photo." Erwin said, shaking his head. "It's... one of the students."

Erwin lowered his hand, and offered the photo to Hanji.

At first glance, it was just a photo of Mikasa Ackerman's dead face. Her dark eyes stared lifelessly into the camera. Her usually soft-looking, pink lips were pale and cracked. Blood trickled from her slightly opened mouth, though the largest pool of blood streamed from her neck.

Hanji took hold of the photo, and stared intently at it. It was exactly the same as what the medium had seen through Moblit's mind, though it was a different angle.

All at once, sounds filled Hanji's mind.

_"-And this is why!" a harsh voice roars._

_The sound of something cutting deeply into flesh, followed by the noise of something dripping. _

_A coughing fit follows, presumably Mikasa, choking on her own blood. _

_"Mikasa! Mikasa!" A voice cries so hard that it cracks. _

_The sound of someone desperately gasping for air. _

_Liquid violently splashes against the ground._

_"You son of a-" _

_Finally, the sound of something thunking against hard wood. _

_And then silence. _

It took Hanji a moment to return to reality. When the sounds stopped, Hanji realized that the men all around were holding different weapons with white, sickly looks on their face.

"Hanji, were you listening?" Moblit asked, his voice whispered nervously.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The photos... the weapons... they're all here..."

Without a doubt, the two revolvers, the knife, the bottle, the string, and the baseball bat were all present. Though extremely dusty and dirty in their old age, some still had traces of dried blood on them.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Okay so I had planned to introduce Ymir and Jean in this chapter, but things ended up running longer than expected. So instead, they'll be appearing near the beginning of the next chapter! I hope you're all having fun!


	4. Chapter 4

**Trigger Warnings: **I'm sure you all get the point by now. The last chapter was kind of a turning point for this story, so there will more than likely be blood, violence, death mentions, etc. in every chapter.

* * *

><p>Only moments had passed since the secrets of the cabinet had been exposed, but the sun had finished setting completely, leaving the classroom in near total darkness. It was already past eight in the evening. The tall cabinet was illuminated by the faint moonlight leaking in through the window.<p>

"All of the photos and weapons... They've been here?" Hanji continued to stare blankly.

_I knew I felt a strong presence, but this still wasn't what I had been expecting at all..._

Mike, who was currently holding the yellow baseball bat, raised his eyebrows as he glanced at Levi. Unexpectedly, he was the first to ask, "Why did you have that key?"

"I'd be lying if I said that I didn't know that the key was for the cabinet." Levi stated. He looked up at Erwin briefly. "I can honestly say that I was clueless as to what was inside it, though."

"But... Why did you have it? How did you come to possess such a thing?" Moblit gulped. "I mean... This is stuff that went missing so many years ago, and even after the police came back here, they didn't find it. It was just gone but... but here it is again."

With a vague air of authority, Erwin crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, we have to remember what we're dealing with here. This is a supernatural case, after all. The possibilities are endless."

An unexpected rusting sound came from behind the group, quickly halting the conversation. They all reacted hastily, save for Moblit, who had hidden behind Hanji in his moment of fear.

The same old cabinet that had been firmly in place just seconds ago was now shaking violently against the wall. Spiders desperately crawled into the corners of the shelves as the large, rusted doors slammed opened and closed with a raging force.

"It's gonna fall!" Mike warned the others as he jumped to the side, and out of the cabinets destructive path.

The others quickly followed suit, and scurried off to the sides. Excluding Hanji, who remained firmly in place to study the quivering cabinet more intently.

The over-whelming feeling of a presence was close by, yet it was just weak enough that the medium couldn't detect the exact location. Baring the situation in mind, Hanji assumed that it could be the work of one of spirits who hadn't wanted the items in the cabinet to be seen.

_But why? That makes no sense. Do they not want justice? Do they not want people to get answers? It's also likely that it might even be the murderer themself, among these children, who has hidden these items. But...Why would Levi have the key? Is he in ka-hoots with the murderer, or did he really just happen to find it? _The medium was consumed by these thought.

"H-Hanji-san, look out!" Moblit cried out.

As Mike had predicted, the cabinet began to fall forward. The next thing to happen had only taken place in less than a second, yet it had looked almost as if it was in slow motion to the rest of the group who watched in horror.

In one swift movement, Moblit hooked his arms underneath Hanji's armpits and pulled the medium's body back. The force had been a little stronger than expected, and they both fell back at the same time as the cabinet came violently crashing down.

With glasses slightly slanted, Hanji sat up and looked alarmingly ahead at the fallen cabinet. "That was so close!" The brunette exclaimed.

"Please be more careful..." Moblit sighed in exasperation.

It only took a moment for Erwin, Mike, and Levi to appear and help the two back on their feet.

"Are the both of you alright?" Erwin asked.

Hanji continued to smile. It would take a lot more than that to startle the medium. "I'm perfectly fine!"

On the contrary, Moblit mumbled, "I think I need to sit down for a moment..."

But just as he was turning around to find a chair, he ran into something hard that was just about his size.

He took a step back, and realized that two people were suddenly standing there. A boy and a girl.

They were close in height, though the boy was just a few centimeters taller. The girl had dark copper hair, parted at the center, and a sea of freckles on both cheeks. Her face was thin, with high cheekbones. Her sooty lips curled slightly on one side, giving a devilish looking smirk.

The boy, though taller, wasn't quite as intimidating as the girl. He wore a neutral expression, with his eyebrows just slightly furrowed. His creamy-beige hair was spiked at the top, with the underparts shaved in a slightly darker shade.

Moblit stiffened. Then it suddenly dawned on Hanji who these two people were. The two unidentified corpses from Moblit's vision, and the final two spirits.

"What're you doing with the cabinet?" The girl spoke up.

Erwin made his way to the front of the group, and approached the spirit. "We happened to find the key to it and were curious about what was inside of it. Are these items yours?" He asked nonchalantly, as if they were chatting over tea.

The girl raised an eyebrow. The boy didn't seem to have much of a reaction.

Erwin continued to speak. "Or, do they belong to someone else?"

The girl casually shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? I don't particularly care myself."

"If I may!" Hanji leaned in toward the spirits. "Could I ask for the both of your names?"

"Ymir." The girl answered and then lazily pointed a thumb at the boy beside. "He's Jean, but he doesn't like to talk much." She added, with a small laugh.

Hanji's head tilted slightly. "Pardon my asking, but why don't you like to talk?"

Jean opened his mouth to speak, and a fountain of blood came gushing from it, soaking his and Ymir's shoes. "Because..." He began, the blood stopped running and he spat the remaining bit out. It hit the ground just in front of Hanji's feet. "... It leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"Ah.. I'm sorry for asking." Hanji said. Taking a step back, the medium continued to speak. "Were you two the ones to knock this cabinet down?"

Ymir shook her head. "Oh, we have no problem with you finding what's in here. We're not the ones who hid it, anyway. We just think you're wasting your time."

"But... Finding the crime scene weapons is such a big deal. So much mystery has surrounded this case all of these years." Moblit spoke up, but quickly covered his mouth.

"Sure, you could see it that way. But," Ymir tilted her head, and crossed her arms across her chest. "I'll tell you now that you won't get any answers from these crusty old things. I know where you can find some real juicy evidence. Something concrete, something that'll get you some real answers."

Moblit gulped, and took a step back, letting Hanji and Erwin take the stage again.

"Well, Ymir, perhaps you could speak with us about what happened first?" Erwin suggested, as he glanced at Hanji, who nodded in agreeance.

"No." Ymir stated flatly. "It's meaningless if you don't find the evidence first."

The group was silent as they exchanged glances between each other. Hanji and Erwin looked as if they were mentally having a conversation, whereas Mike and Moblit just wore different expressions of confusion.

Levi stepped forward. "What's the evidence?"

"I can't say, exactly." Ymir answered.

"Just tell us." Levi demanded. Erwin had grabbed one of Levi's arms in an attempt to calm him but he just shrugged the man off and continued to interrogate. "What is it? And where is it?"

"Are you deaf, old man?" Ymir snarked in response. "I can't say what it is exactly. That's because I haven't seen it in seventeen years, so I'm not sure if it's quite the same as it was then."

Taking a calmer approach, Erwin offered a gentle smile to the girl. "Then, where can we find this evidence?"

Jean quickly shot Ymir a look out of the corner of his eye. Ymir briefly looked back at him, before returning her attention to the group.

"There's something we want first." Ymir stated. "I'll only tell you where this evidence is if you give me what I want."

Hanji's gaze returned to Ymir. "Ah, what is it that you want?"

Jean responded only with a small groan. He lifted his right arm upwards, and pointed towards the cabinet.

"We want the knife, one of the revolvers, and the pepper spray." Ymir explained, in an unusually casual tone.

"Huh? Why would you want those..?" Moblit asked in a small, confused voice.

Ymir thought before answering, "I don't think it much matters why I want them. But this is a chance you guys really can't afford to miss out on, y'know?"

Jean nodded his head, as if backing up Ymir's words.

"Of course I could just be lying to you all, plan to take the weapons and kill you with them, but what good would that be to me? I guess I'd understand if you wouldn't want to gamble your life's with me. I may not look like the nicest kid on the block but at the very least, I'm honest. So, will you make the deal or not?"

Before anybody could respond, the sound of liquid hitting the ground could be heard as Jean opened his bloody mouth to speak. "I'm really not interested in hurting anybody." He said, wiping his chin with his sleeve. "Actually, I just hope that you can find what we've been looking for."

A moment of silence passed by quickly, and then another, and yet another followed that moment. Everyone stared at each other, unsure of what to do or say. Nobody could seem to come up with an answer- and discussing it in front of the spirits seemed meaningless.

Finally, Hanji stepped forward. "Sure, we'll give you what you want in exchange for information."

"Are you an idiot?" Levi quickly retorted.

Hanji looked back at him for a second before responding, "You should have spoken up sooner if you didn't want to. This is for the best. We could get some good information out of this."

"Good." Ymir's lips curled into a smile. "Give us the items first, and then we'll tell you."

"Boys," Hanji turned to face the others. "Please, give up the revolver, knife, and pepper spray."

Although they had hesitance in their every movement, the men complied with Hanji's orders and gave the desired items to Ymir and Jean, who happily accepted them.

Feeling content, Ymir explained, "The item you'll be wanting is in the basement of this school. I'm not sure who put it there, but Jean and I haven't been able to make it past the stairs. I don't know why. We just can't. Whatever. It seems like some can make it down there, but others can't. I don't really understand it, so I can't tell you much. I'm not even sure what part of the basement you'll have to look in, but I know for sure that the item is there."

Just like that, Ymir and Jean were gone. With no slight indication as to why they had wanted to keep the weapons, or where they were going with them.

"So what's the plan?" Levi turned to face Hanji. "Or did you just plan to go give the baseball bat and second revolver to some other kids and wait to see who comes to kill you first?"

Hanji's expression hardened. It was possibly the first time since arriving that the medium revealed such a serious expression. "We'll go to the basement, of course. Unless you have something you want to tell us first, like why you had the key to the cabinet?"

"I already said that I just happened to have it."

"I thought you'd say that." Hanji said. "So until you tell us the truth, we'll be doing things my way."

Feeling a bead of sweat run down his face, Moblit gulped. He was feeling second-hand intimidation from the serious expression of the medium, but of course, he wasn't the only one who felt it.

Erwin looked at the brunette with wide eyes. It was just around that time that he thought he understood the way Hanji worked, but then suddenly, the medium would say or do something to completely change that opinion.

His expression softening, Erwin spoke. "Of course I agree that we should go to the basement, but it's been awhile since anybody has gotten any rest. I think it's probably a good idea to refuel everybody's energy before we engage in some new expedition. Frankly, a tired old bunch like us won't be able to accomplish much like this."

"We'll have to take sleeping shifts though." Mike added. "Since we now have armed spirits."

"But!" Hanji cut in, sounding much like a child. "That's exactly why we have to act right now! It's such a small trip, and it's best for us to go there as quickly as we can. So we really must do it right away. I'm confident that it won't take us long, and we can rest immediately after we return."

Erwin pressed his lips together and nodded. "It's also the period of time when the children will be expecting us to go. Well, if need be, we still have a revolver and baseball bat to use for protection, not that that means much. But we've already gotten our DNA all over them anyway, so it's not of much use evidence-wise even if we did send it in to be tested. This supposed evidence in the basement could be all we have left." He rambled on until he came to his conclusion. "Lets do it, then. Lets get this trip done with."

It was obvious by the expressions on their faces that Levi and Moblit didn't agree with the logic of the other two. Regardless, neither one chose to voice these objections, and instead, agreed to go along with the spur of the moment plan.

It was nearing nine in the evening when the group began to emerge from Erwin's office. About a half hour had passed since the encounter with Ymir and Jean in the classroom, and they had since been preparing for their trip to the basement.

According to Ymir's instructions, the basement should have evidence left there from after the incident occurred. But since she couldn't provide details about it's exact location, or what it even was, there was still a lot of doubt in the air regarding it's reliability. There was a good chance that the group had been fooled into handing weapons over, and each of them was aware of this fact. Despite this, there was still the shred of hope that they would find a useful piece of evidence.

Since it was unsure of what awaited them on their trip, the group had little to work with in terms of preparation. Although weapons weren't entirely useful in their situation, they still decided to bring the revolver and baseball bat, with the simple reasoning of "just in case" and "you never know." Along with the weapons, they all put on a warmer change of clothing that they'd brought to the school with them. Considering that it was the beginning of November, the night air was frigid, and the basement would be even more so. Lastly, a flashlight would be necessary on their mission. If what Ymir had said was accurate, then it meant that the basement had gone unused for the past seventeen years, so it was unsure if they lighting was still fully intact.

"Is everybody ready?" Erwin asked, as he closed his office door behind him. "Remember, we don't know what'll be down there, so just be prepared for anything. It could be nothing- but it could just as well be something terrible."

"Lets do this!" Hanji pumped a fist into the air eagerly.

"Just," Erwin cut in, his tone serious, "Just please remember to be careful, Hanji. That goes for everyone else, too. Be on your toes. Stay alert."

Levi was growing slightly impatient. "It's getting late. We should hurry and go."

Erwin chuckled. "You're right. I didn't mean to ramble. I'm sure you all understand what we need to do."

With that, the group of five advanced down the hallways, across the main hall, and towards the back of the school, where the unused staircase leading to the basement awaited them.

It was a rather short trip from Erwin's office to the basement stairway, and the group had remained silent the entire time. Standing at the doorway that led to the stairs, Erwin turned back to the group and gave them all one last stern look, as if to remind them of his previous warnings.

Moblit lowered his head a little, and spoke in a feeble voice to Hanji. "It's probably a bit late to ask this, but why am I still here? Isn't my job done now..?"

"Hm, well, I guess you're part of the crew now, Moblit. It's too late to back out now." Hanji laughed quietly.

With that, Erwin opened the door to the basement. As he had guessed, it was completely pitch black. He clicked on the flashlight and held it in front of him. A ray of light illuminated the stairway, revealing how old and dirty they were.

Erwin was the first to begin walking down the steps. A rackety creaking noise echoed with each step. The rest of the group slowly followed after, with Hanji and Moblit in the rear.

The frigid air from the basement had already reached the stairs, and clouds of breath appeared as they spoke.

"Can everybody see alright?" Erwin asked. "I've been trying to feel for a light switch on the walls, but I can't seem to find one."

As if on cue, everybody else began to ran their hands on the wall, in search of the light switch. Then, unexpectedly, Hanji felt something hard on the wall and stopped to feel it. With a quick flick, the stairway was suddenly made bright.

Moblit glanced behind his shoulder at Hanji. "Oh, you found i-" He cut himself off, as his entire face suddenly lost it's colour.

"What's wrong?" Hanji's eyebrows furrowed.

Before getting a chance to hear his answer, Hanji heard a loud THWACK from behind, and then, there was complete darkness.

* * *

><p>Through clouded vision, Hanji's eyes slowly stirred before finally opening them fully. Although the medium's gaze was still unfocused, what looked to be a girl with long blonde hair stood above the bed. The roof and walls surrounding were all pure white, and the lights were so intensely bright that it was almost painful to look at them.<p>

Hanji blinked a few times before the details became more clear. With a dazed sounding voice, the medium spoke. "Ah.. Krista, is it?" _Why are you here? Or rather, why am I here? And where exacty is __**here, **__anyway? _

"No, I'm Historia." The girl responded, with a gentle smile. "How are you feeling, Hanji-san?"

"I.." A sudden pang of sharp pain struck Hanji's mind, making the medium wince slightly. "I'm doing fine."

Hanji began to survey the room. On either side were long beds with white sheets on them. There were curtains, pulled back to the wall, that were meant to separate the beds, but they weren't being used. The bed to the right of Hanji appeared to be used by someone but it was hard to tell who. It looked like it may have been Moblit, judging by the distinct ash-blond hair that peeked out beneath the bed sheets.

A small desk was at the front of the room, with a vase of dying flowers in it's center. This caught Hanji's attention, though for no particular supernatural reason. The school had only been shut down for two school days thus far, no longer than a usual weekend, so why did the flowers look like they'd been left to die for weeks? It was unusual for someone to keep dead flowers on their desk.

Turning attention back to Krista, Hanji spoke. "I'm sorry but do you happen to know where Mr. Smith, Mr. Zacharius, and uh, Levi are?"

Krista tilted her head in confusion. "Um, well I'm not sure who the last one is but Mr. Smith and Mr. Zacharius are outside the room with Mr. Ackerman."

"Oh?" Hanji's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Could you send them in, then?"

"Of course!" Krista nodded her head. "I really should make sure that you don't have a fever first, though!"

As she said this, Krista brought her hand forward and pressed it against Hanji's forehead.

The sound of something popping could be heard in Hanji's mind. The image of Krista's face was suddenly clouded over by pure white, and a vision appeared.

_A bright blue sky appeared. All around was tall green grass littered with dandelions. She turned her head to the side, and laying beside her was Ymir. There was silence between the two, as the wind blew around them_.

Ah, this must be Krista's point of view.

_"Ymir..." It was Krista's voice, and she spoke quietly, despite nobody else being around them. "I...I just don't think it's a good idea."_

_Ymir looked disinterested in Krista's words, and stared at the endless blue sky in front of her. "Why? I'm getting my way, and things are going well." _

_"Something dangerous could happen to you." Krista objected. When Ymir didn't respond, she raised her voice. "Think of your well-being!" _

_At this line, Ymir sat up and looked slightly irritated. "I've said it before, I really don't care what happens to me." _

_"Well, have you ever thought that maybe I care about what happens to you?" Krista retorted as she sat up. She stared intensely into Ymir's eyes. _

_Ymir gave a playful smirk. "Fine. Then, come with me." _

_Krista's eyes widened. "What?" _

_"If you're so worried, then just come with me. I'm telling you, nothing's going to happen. But even if something does happen..." Ymir paused. "Well, I'll bring along my own preparations, so you can rest assured. We'll be fine." _

_Krista remained silent as she stared back at Ymir. Finally, in a determined tone, she stated, "Fine. I'll go with you. But just to make sure that nothing happens." _

_Ymir laughed, and put an arm around Krista's shoulder. "Then, it's settled. Thursday night at 8 o'clock. We'll be there." _

The vision suddenly ended there. When Hanji came to, Krista, Erwin, Mike, and Levi were standing above the bed.

"Hanji-san?" Krista looked at the medium with large, concerned eyes.

Hanji laughed meekly, and attempted to sit up. A sudden dizzy spell took over the medium, forcing them to lay back down. "Sorry, sorry. I'm fine. But, Kri- Ah, I mean, Historia, could you give me a moment to speak with these men?"

"Sure," Krista smiled. "Ah.. but... My name is Krista." The girl corrected before turning around and leaving the room.

The room was only silent for a second before Hanji's expressions became serious. "What happened, and why am I here?"

"I'm not really sure but," Erwin started, "But you passed out suddenly when we were walking down the basement stairs. Moblit said that he saw something appear behind you before it happened, and he nearly passed out himself. But it must have scared him because he only managed to get to sleep a few hours ago."

"Wait," Hanji cut in. "What time is it now? It was nine o'clock, wasn't it?"

"It was when you passed out," Erwin looked at his wrist-watch. "It's seven-thirty a.m now."

Hanji's mouth hung open. "What year is it?!"

Erwin laughed slightly. "It's still 2015. You're safe. You were out for a while, but nothing too outrageous."

Hanji breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah, I guess that means we never made it down then."

"We didn't have time to after you passed out," Mike said. "But Erwin and I were preparing to go back, just the two of us. It's probably better this way, than to go in a group that's too big."

"But wait!" Hanji looked skeptical. "What about Levi, Moblit, and I? What are we supposed to do?"

Erwin shook his head. "It's best that you and Moblit get some rest for now. You both had an eventful night, and you might even have a bad injury that requires you to rest. Levi is going to be keeping an eye on the both of you, to make sure nothing bad happens up here."

"Not by my own choice, I'd like to add." Levi said.

"I wouldn't imagine it any other way." Hanji joked. "But I really would like to join you in the basement! After all, I'm the medium here. There might be something I can do that you both can't."

"That might be true, but you're injured right now, Hanji." Mike stated with concern.

Hanji suddenly sat up and looked seriously at the others. "Even so! I need to do what I came here for. I have no time for rest now. That can wait until this is all through with."

"Hanji." Erwin's tone was surprisingly stern. He placed both hands on Hanji's shoulders, and gave direct eye contact. "Whatever is in the basement, we will bring it to you. But please, you need to rest for now."

Hanji stared back, eyes still slightly unfocused. With reluctance, they stated, "...Fine, but be careful. There was clearly something waiting there last time."

Erwin nodded his head. He let go of Hanji and stood again. He turned his gaze to Levi. "If anything should happen, make sure you protect Hanji and Moblit. And don't fight with them."

"I'm not a child." Levi huffed slightly. After a pause, he added. "I know. I won't argue with them."

With that, Erwin and Mike promptly left the room. The room was once again quiet, save for the sound of Moblit's light breathing in the bed beside.

It remained like this for some time. Levi walked a bit away from the bed-sides, and took a seat at the nurse's desk. Hanji quietly rested in the bed, and stared at the pure white roof while consumed in thought.

Finally, Hanji spoke.

"So, you're Mr. Ackerman, right? I just found this out." With a bit of hesitance, the medium added in an already-knowing tone, "Have you ever lost somebody close to you before?"

Levi remained quiet, though his eyes had widened ever-so slightly.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>To be honest, this chapter was a bit difficult for me to write. I'm not sure why, but I think that some of the writing really suffered because of it. I'm sorry if it was weak compared to the others, but I'll try even harder on the rest!


	5. Chapter 5

**Trigger Warnings: **Same as usual!

* * *

><p>The sunlight coming through the hallway windows gradually lightened and illuminated the school in pure, bright light. A ray of light reflected off the bright white walls and shone directly into the eyes of Erwin Smith, causing him to squint.<p>

Out of the blue, the man walking beside him, Mike Zacharius, spoke up. "I'm surprised that Hanji is letting us go to the basement alone like this."

Erwin smirked slightly, and shrugged his right shoulder. "It's better this way. It shows that Hanji has at least realized the importance of resting."

"Coming from the man who hasn't slept since this entire thing began." Mike added.

"Well," Erwin folded his arms, and thoughtfully answered. "I'll be able to rest much easier after this is all over."

"That's just like you." Mike looked into Erwin's eyes. "Just don't over-do it. It was a close call with Hanji earlier- That could have ended much worse, but we got lucky. We really can't afford any more injuries."

Erwin didn't respond to this comment, but he didn't need to. Mike already knew what he would have said. They had that sort of understanding between one another.

After all, the two had been close friends since they were in high school together, but they hadn't gone to St. Maria. Rather, they had attended it's sister school, St. Sina's all boys private school. It wasn't their classes that had brought them together, though. The two had met in their first year of high school while on the student council together. They found that they had a lot in common, and despite Mike being a quiet boy, he realized that he could open up to Erwin. Just the same, Erwin didn't have many people that he could share his interests with, but Mike was different. He was easy to talk to, and he genuinely cared about what Erwin had to say.

So immediately the two had clicked, and eventually in their senior years, they became president and vice-president of the student council. Mike, being the latter of the two, had always contently followed along with anything Erwin had told him to do. Of course, Erwin never abused this power because he respected their friendship far too much.

Even over twenty years later, their relationship remained the same. Now the principal and vice-principal of St. Maria, the two were a remarkable duo with an unbreakable dynamic.

Erwin briefly recalled the times they'd spent together when they were young and how long ago it suddenly felt like. He quickly pushed these memories to the back of his mind- mentally building a wall around them so that they may remain hidden.

Mike's face went stiff, and he stopped walking. "Do you smell that?"

Erwin immediately stopped and glanced back at Mike. "What is it?"

Of course, Erwin didn't even bother to stick his nose in the air to sniff out whatever it was that Mike had smelled. It would have been pointless, since Mike had an extraordinary sense of smell like no other. He could pin-point exact ingredients in meals just by sniffing them, and could identify any person just by their scent alone.

"It's kind of like..." Mike paused. "One of the kids. Armin."

As if on cue, the small blond boy appeared before the two. He stared up at the both of them with big eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm not interrupting something, am I?"

Erwin and Mike glanced at each other briefly before returning attention to Armin.

"No, of course not." Erwin responded. "Did you want to talk with us about something?"

"Well, I..." Armin carefully answered. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but... You're going to the basement, aren't you?"

Moving slowly now, Erwin and Mike both stiffened as they stared at the boy.

"Is there something that you want in the basement?" Erwin asked, just as carefully.

"Ah, well, how do I say this... I want to help you." Armin concluded.

Erwin leaned forward, and quieted his voice. "What do you mean by that, Armin? Do you know what's in the basement?"

Armin shook his head. "No. I'm not sure how to explain this, but I think I might be useful to you. I know that I've been forgetting things, see?" He rolled up the over-sized sleeve of his cardigan, and revealed that his thin, pale arm was covered in black writing. The phrases were mostly short, and to the point. Saying things like 'Erwin is now Mr. Smith' and 'You and your classmates are spirits' but they seemed to be comprehensible enough to Armin himself.

"I realized that my memory was resetting itself by the way people reacted to me, so I started to write the important things down as they happened. I haven't told Eren or Mikasa. I'm not sure why, but I don't think they want me to remember anything. When I look at these notes, I feel vaguely like I might be able to remember these things. I've been getting better at it every time I write something else down. And I'm sorry about this, but I overheard you all talking in the nurse's office about finding evidence in the basement, and I need to see it! I feel like if I do, then I'll be able to remember even more!"

Without needing to give it much thought, Erwin came to a decision. "Are you sure, Armin? It would be a lot of help to us if you could come along."

Mike nodded his head. "You might be able to spot something we don't."

"Really? I can really go with you?" Armin broke out into a grin. He quickly shook his head and shifted his expression to one of fierce determination. "I promise I won't let you down, or get in your way!"

Erwin placed a hand on Armin's shoulder. "You'll be a great help to us, Armin. Now, just make sure to keep your voice really quiet. We weren't able to make it down to the basement last time, so we're hoping that things go better this time." As he finished speaking, he relieved his hand from the small boys shoulder and began to walk again. Armin and Mike quickly followed suit.

Armin took heed of the older mans warning, and extremely so, as he did not utter a single word until they reached the basement stairs.

Without missing a beat, Erwin clicked on his flashlight as he took his first few cautious steps down the stairway. Mike was only a few steps behind, with Armin tailing closely by.

It didn't take long for the frosty airs of the basement to reach the men. Each breath created a cloud of mist, that slightly obscured visibility. Though the walls felt like they were made of pure ice, Erwin ran his hands along them until he finally found the lightswitch. Feeling slightly hesitant, due to what happened the last time, Erwin flicked the switch upwards and then held his breath in anticipation.

Silence followed. Armin had unconsciously started to grip onto the back of Mike's shirt during the ominous wait, but the man didn't mind it. On the contrary, he would have found it charming had they not been in a frightening situation.

After turning the flashlight off and shoving it into his back pocket, Erwin continued to walk down the staircase, eventually reaching the bottom step which was cut off by a long wall. There was a sharp turn, one more step, and then the basement.

It was a spacious and mostly vacant room. The large balls of dust on the floor and thick spider webs in the corners made it clear that it really had gone unused for years. There were a few bookshelves lined up against the walls, though most of the shelves remained bare, and very few books were actually present.

"I'll check out this first bookshelf. Mike, you check the one beside it." Erwin commanded.

Mike nodded and immediately approached the second of the shelves. It was taller than the first, and had appeared to be the more in-shape of the two.

"Where should I look?" Armin asked, looking up at Erwin with big eyes.

"You can help me, Armin." Erwin stated, as he handed the small boy one of the dusty books. A spider quickly crawled across the top, surprising Armin so badly that he nearly dropped it.

Erwin raised a finger and flicked the spider away. "Sorry, they don't appear to be too well kept."

"I...It's okay. I just didn't expect that." Armin mumbled as he opened the book. "These look like old yearbooks." He added, as he flipped through the pages.

Mike had stopped what he was doing, and turned to face the other two. "These ones are, too."

"Yearbooks, huh?" Erwin cupped his chin in thought. "Try to see if you can find the yearbook for 1997."

Nodding his head, Mike quickly went back to work. Just the same, Erwin began to scour his own shelf, handing each book to Armin for a second-check after he was finished with it.

Many quiet moments of rubbing the dust off of books and flipping through their pages passed by, but finally Mike muttered, "I think this is it." He held the book out for Erwin to see.

Armin stood on the tips of his toes, and peered up at the book.

Unfortunately for Armin, it just so happened that Mike had opened to a large two-page spread memorial for the twelve students that had died that year. In large print "IN MEMORY OF" was printed above the photos. Armin gulped loudly, and stood back on his flat feet. "I... I feel a bit uneasy."

"I'm sorry." Mike quickly said. "I shouldn't've let you look."

Armin shook his head. "No, it's okay. It's not your fault. I guess just having it confirmed is a bit... much."

Erwin took the book from Mike and shut it. He held it at his side as he turned to face Armin. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, please don't mind me." Armin flashed a small smile to show that he was fine. "But... I don't think this is the item we need to find. It doesn't really explain anything. It's just photos of us when we were in class together."

"I agree with you but I'd still like to bring this back to Hanji along with whatever else we can find." Erwin explained. "I think we've spent enough time on these shelves. This is a large basement with a lot of room to cover, and I'm not sure how much time we have so we need to get moving."

Erwin quickly surveyed the area, turning his eyes from one corner to the next. He realized that there was a small window-like opening in the wall underneath the staircase, but although the lighting was dim, he could already tell that there was nothing in the small space.

Aside from it, there was a dark corner which Erwin had assumed to be the entry way to the other side of the basement, but the lighting didn't appear to be working on that side of the room, so use of the flashlight would be necessary. Unfortunately that meant searching would become slightly more difficult for the trio. But knowing that it was inevitable, Erwin took the flashlight from his back pocket and clicked it on.

"We can come back to this side if we don't find anything there." Erwin explained as he took his first few steps into the other side of the room. Mike and Armin were quick to follow, and remained silent.

Erwin slowly flashed the light across the entire room, and did a careful job of surveying it's every detail. With an overly abundant amount of shelves, cabinets, and book cases, there was certainly a lot more to see on the second side of the room.

Knowing it could take some time for the group to examine the entire room, Erwin shot a look of concern to Mike, who nodded his head in return.

It was at this point that Mike reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cellphone, where he casually turned on to it's flashlight mode and began to tour the room on his own.

Erwin turned his gaze to Armin, prepared to gently ask for his assistance, but he suddenly found his voice caught in the back of his throat when he saw the look of absolute horror on the boys face. "Armin... What's wrong?"

"Wh...Where are we...?" Armin's voice shook, and his entire face had gone pale. His gaze shot wildly around the room, as if he didn't see Erwin standing just infront of him. "What's going on? Where are we?"

"Oh no." Erwin muttered under his breath.

By then, Mike had turned around to face the commotion. "What's wrong, Erwin?"

"I think Armin's memory is resetting itself." Erwin stated, to which Armin responded with a startled look.

"What are you..." Armin's voice drifted off and he began to shake his head. "Please tell me what's happening. I don't like this. I don't want to be here."

Erwin firmly placed both hands on Armins petite shoulders. "Armin. I need you to look at me and calm down, alright? Everything is okay. You're not in any harm."

"Who..." Armin had begun to say but cut himself off. The look in his eyes was a bit more focused now, but he still refused to look up at Erwin.

"Armin, it's me. It's Erwin." His voice was calm and collected. "Please look at me."

Although he looked reluctant to do so, Armin slowly shifted his gaze toward the much taller man.

Doing his best to keep a relaxed image, Erwin smiled gently at the boy though he wasn't even sure if his gesture could be seen in the darkness. "Armin, I know you're confused but I want you to listen to me okay, honey? I'm going to explain everything to you nice and slowly so please take a deep breath and listen to my voice."

"Alright." Armin gulped quietly. "I'm listening."

"We're in the basement of St. Maria right now." Erwin started. "It's just you, Mike and I. Nobody else is here aside from the three of us. We're looking for something very important here, something that could potentially be evidence from a crime, and you offered your help to us. Do you remember any of this?"

Armin shook his head in response, but realizing that this gesture had likely gone unseen, he said, "No. No, I don't remember any of that."

"Alright, I'll go a bit slower then. Mike and I were walking down the hallway when we ran into you. You showed us your arms- the things you write on them." Something suddenly struck Erwin's mind. He pointed the flashlight towards Armins arms. "Roll up your sleeves and read the writing. You wrote messages to yourself."

Armin took one deep breath. His eyebrows moved a little, and quietly he asked, "On my arms?"

"Yes, just look and you'll see."

His lips tightened. His raised his arms and slowly, he rolled each of his over-sized sleeves upwards. He let out an airy gasp when he saw what was written.

Erwin stared down at the boy, watching for his reaction intently.

Unexpected to him, Armin just gulped and whispered, "Oh, I see."

Keeping his hands securely fixed on Armin's shoulders, Erwin asked, "Are you alright? Do you need to sit for a moment?"

"I'm fine," Armin muttered, "I just... I feel like I might faintly recall something."

Erwin leaned in to him and asked, "What? What do you recall?"

Armin furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he stared at the ground. His bit the corner of his lip and tilted his head. "It's hard to say exactly..."

Without missing a beat, Erwin slipped his hand into the pocket of Armin's large cardigan and pulled out his black marker and popped the lid off. "Could you write it, perhaps? Anything that you remember."

Armin was quiet for a moment, but then he took the marker and brought it to his skin. He hesitated another moment before beginning to write.

'_We came to the basement_.' The message began, and he paused once more. '_We found a book_.'

"Yes, Armin, yes! That's right! We found a book, and you remembered it all on your own!" Erwin exclaimed, unexpectedly loud. He quieted himself a little before gently adding, "That's great. I'm so proud of you."

He thought that through the darkness, he could see a faint smile with a hint of sadness creep it's way onto Armin's face. "Thank you... But I can't remember anything else. I'm sorry for being useless."

Erwin finally released his hands from Armin's shoulder, and he playfully ruffled the boy's hair. "Don't say that. You're not useless, and you've been very helpful to us. We need you. But for the record, that's all there is to remember. We haven't found anything else. You're getting much better at remembering."

Armin used his hands to neaten his hair back into place. Bashfully, he said, "I'll try my best to keep it up."

"For now, just worry about helping us find something that could be used as evidence in a crime, alright?"

"Sure, I..." Armin's voice has drifted off as his gaze fell upon the glow from Mike's flashlight.

Erwin was quick to follow Armin's line of vision, and saw that Mike had been crouched in front of a tall cabinet and a stand-up book shelf, with his flashlight directed at the space in between the two.

Armin hurried over to Mike. "That's my backpack!" He exclaimed, while pointing his finger out. "And Eren's... And Mikasa's! Why are all of our bags here?"

At this point, Erwin had joined the two and also flashed his light towards the large pile of school backpacks crammed in between the cabinet and shelf. "These are the bags of you and your classmates?"

"I think so, yes. I know that these are mine, Eren's and Mikasa's for sure." Armin concluded.

"Lets pull these out, then." Erwin said, as he passed his flashlight to Armin. Mike did the same with his cellphone. "You hold the lights where we can see, and Mike and I are going to get all of the bags out."

With the flashlight in one hand, and the cellphone in the other, Armin raised his arms as high as he could and focused the light on the smothered group of bags.

Pulling out one bag after the other was a more strenuous than expected, as they had been so tightly packed into the small space. Eventually, the men managed to retrieve each one, which in the end, had made a total of twelve. Equal to the number of spirits currently residing in the school.

"Could this be the evidence that the kids were talking about?" Mike asked, as he rubbed his chin stubble in thought. "I guess we'd have to look inside them before deciding that, though."

Erwin nodded. "But lets not do that now. We'll wait until we're back in the infirmary with the others before looking inside. With Armin, all of us would have two bags to go through."

"Good call." Mike commented. "Are we sure that this is evidence worthy, though? What's inside could just turn out to be nothing more than a few binders or something."

Erwin finally stood. He took the flashlight back from Armin, whose arms had been quivering slightly from fatigue. "We should still check out the rest of the room, just in case."

For the next forty-five minutes, the three searched every corner and crevice of the basement, but no other item of interest could be found. Realizing that the yearbook and bags were the only things usable to themselves, they determined who would carry what back to the infirmary.

Armin had already straped himself into his own backpack, and carried the yearbook, along with Eren's and Mikasa's backpacks on either arm. Since he was the strongest, Mike carried the four heaviest backpacks, and Erwin took the remaining five.

The walk up the stairs had been awkward due to the bulky luggage, but it was manageable for the three. At one point, Armin had nearly fallen back but luckily Mike was quick to react and had caught the boy against his chest. Armin had bashfully apologized, and then the three had continued on their way.

Once they had exited the basement completely, Erwin was able to sigh a small breath of relief. He was well aware that the job wasn't done completely until they had returned to the infirmary completely, but he felt more at ease knowing that they had made it through the basement without much trouble.

He made sure to close the door behind him, and when he turned back around, he realized Armin and Mike were talking quietly amongst themselves. It was hard to make out what they were saying exactly, but he got the rough idea.

Mike had looked down to Armin and asked him, "Do you remember anything that was in your bag?"

Armin shook his head in response, but looked slightly eager. "No, not really. I haven't seen it in awhile but I think my missing textbooks and notepads are probably in here, so I'm glad."

"That's good." Mike simply concluded.

It was at that time that they were crossing the main hall to enter the infirmary when a voice cut them off.

"Hey guys!" It was Connie's voice. He rushed infront of them, cutting them off. "Whatcha got there? Our bags?"

Armin was the first to respond. "Yeah, I think so. I'm not sure which one is which, but I think yours is probably here too, Connie."

"Cool!" Connie grinned. "Can I see them?"

"Ah, well, I'm sorry but we need them all right now, Connie." Erwin cut in. "You can have yours back afterwards."

"Huuuh? No fair, I want it now." Connie gave a fake pout. "Just let me look through it, then."

Erwin suddenly became stern. "I said no, Connie."

"I'll bring it to you when we're done with them, Connie." Armin suggested, with a small smile.

Connie waved a hand sassily in front of his face. "Nah, I need it now." He said flatly.

"I'll help you out!" A girl's voice cut in.

Before anybody had a chance to turn around, a strong gust of wind had encompassed the group. Stealthily, one bag from Armin had disappeared, along with two from Erwin and one from Mike. The gesture had been so swift that Erwin hadn't even realized that the bags were gone until he looked in front of him.

Sasha suddenly appeared at Connie's side, hugging the bags in her arms tightly. She handed two of them to him, which he had accepted with a look of surprise.

"Woah! That was so smooth, man! I didn't expect that." Connie exclaimed.

Sasha laughed along. "Hehe. Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Here you go. Boy, these are dusty."

"Yeah, well, it's been like two-hundred years, I swear. Thanks, guys!" Connie waved his hand in an over-dramatic fashion.

"Yeah, thanks!" Sasha chimed in. "And... I'm sorry!"

With that, the two were gone just as quickly as they had arrived.

The trio stood idly in the hallway for a moment, with dumb-founded expressions on their faces.

"We need to hurry to the infirmary." Erwin concluded. "There's definitely something in these bags- Connie and Sasha aren't convincing actors, and we may have just lost something valuable."


	6. Chapter 6

The infirmary had remained in near pure silence for a little over ten minutes already. The soft patterned sound of Moblit's sleeping breaths wasn't entirely unpleasant to the ears. In fact, it was almost harmonious in the otherwise eerie atmosphere.

Levi had begun to tidy the nurse's office space, as he had made the executive decision that it was an unsuitable working place and needed his immediate attention. He started first by disposing of the dead flowers that had been limply residing in the old vase.

_"Have you ever lost somebody close to you?" _

Hanji had asked Levi moments ago, but he had yet to answer the question. Rather, he seemed to be pretending that nobody else was in the room.

Hanji didn't mind this, though. In fact, the medium had already assumed that the man was feeling uneasy with being given the mundane task of watching two bedridden people. He didn't seem like the type who liked to sit around and chat about his personal life, and it was evident by his constant need to be on his feet.

Suddenly getting an idea of how to gain Levi's attention, Hanji spoke up. "Levi."

Levi remained quiet, but looked in Hanji's direction.

Hanji sat with elbows perched at both sides to elevate slightly. "I don't think that you're negatively involved in this case."

Furrowing his eyebrows at the medium, Levi crossed his arms and asked, "What makes you say that?"

"Well," Hanji began. "It's your aura. Here, let me hold your hands."

"No." Levi responded flatly. He quickly turned his attention back to sweeping around the nurse's desk.

"Hey, come oooooon." Hanji pouted. At this point, the brunette struggled to fully sit up but somehow managed to.

Continuing to ignore the pleading medium, Levi swept the pile of dirt he had collected with the broom into a dust pan and poured it into the garbage.

Hanji's gaze fell downwards, toward the bedsheets. Hands cupped and fingers intertwined with each other, the medium wore a meek smile. "I know that you don't take me seriously. I haven't done anything to prove that I'm the great medium that I claim to be, but... but I can assure you that I always get the job done. You can choose to believe in me or not, that's your decision. For any progress to happen, though, I'm going to need everyone's help and cooperation regardless of what they might think of me."

"I know there are things that you're not telling me, and I know that might be because those things are hard for you to say out loud. I understand that, but I need to know everything that you do. If you just give me your hand, then those difficult words won't be necessary at all. If you open yourself to me, and give me those memories of yours, I promise that I will do my best to put them to good use. So please, I sincerely want to help everyone... but I'll need your help first."

Only silence followed Hanji's pleas. Realizing that the effort had likely gone wasted, the medium wasn't ready to give up just yet, though they did know that pestering about the subject would only make things worse. _So I'll just bring it up in awhile, or casually grip his hand when he's not paying attention, or..._

The medium's thoughts were suddenly cut short as Levi began to walk forward. He took a seat on the edge of the bed and extended his arm towards Hanji, all while keeping his gaze solely upon his clean black loafers.

"Really?" Hanji's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Just hurry it up." Levi sighed. "And don't pry too much."

"Of course." Hanji concluded, and wasted no time in interlocking fingers with the man. Eyes closed, the medium smiled humbly as the scene faded to black.

_A white blinding light grew increasingly stronger, as a black shadow began to fade into the silhouette of what could be assumed to be a person._

_The background began to take form, revealing a small crooked window that leaned slightly to the right. Cream-coloured curtains hung on both sides, the light of the outside filtering through their sheets gently. A gentle breeze danced through the window, and made it's way indoors, evident through the rhythmic whirling of the curtains. _

_In the center of the scene, a young woman stood. Her hair was dark as night, and was being caressed by the whispers of the wind that peeped through the window just behind her. _

_The features of her face that were indistinguishable seconds ago were now taking form, and it was clear now that they young girl was none other than Mikasa Ackerman. _

_She finally spoke. "I'm going to the school tonight," was all she said. _

_"Why?" The response was quick, and it was a male's voice. Presumably Levi's, since the vision was his. _

_"Club activities." Mikasa responded. Her gaze shifted from both sides before looking at the viewer again._

_"That's a lie. You're not in any clubs." _

_Mikasa's eyebrow twitched slightly, though her expression still remained neutral. "I'll be with Eren and Armin, so it doesn't matter." _

_"Does father know?" _

_Mikasa shook her head. "Don't tell him. Just say that I'm going to Armin's house." _

_A sigh. "What are you going to be doing with them, anyway?" _

_"Studying." Mikasa looked to her left briefly, then forward again. "Studying for a test." _

_"That's a lie. You look to the left when you lie." _

_"It doesn't matter. Just don't tell dad." Mikasa looked at the ground. _

_Silence followed for a moment. To break this, Levi spoke in an unexpectedly concerned voice, "Who's taking you there? You can't walk this late on your own."_

_"It's fine." Mikasa responded quickly, as if to cut off his chances of offering to walk her there. "This guy that Armin knows is going to be giving us all a ride." _

_"Some guy you don't even know?" _

_Mikasa shook her head. "I just don't recall his name. The tall guy with blond hair and thick eyebrows." _

_"You mean Erwin?" _

_"Yeah, him." Mikasa nodded. "So stop worrying. We're just studying." _

_The scene suddenly faded to black. _

Hanji suddenly awoke from the vision. Much like the feeling one may experience after awakening from a particularly frightening dream, it took the medium a moment to remember where they were.

Levi had taken his hand back already, and sat with his back hunched over his knees, still gazing intently at his shoes.

It didn't seem like a good time to talk about what had just been seen, so Hanji attempted to ease slowly into the topic. Gently, the medium began to speak. "You know, I've always been that typical medium like the ones you see on television. I could sense when people had lost somebody close to them. If I held their hand, I could sometimes even see that person's face, or hear their voice. Not all the time, though. Sometimes people just conceal those feelings too deeply inside themselves, so I wouldn't see any visions. But I can always tell when they've lost somebody."

Leaning back against the pillows, and staring forward with a meek smile, Hanji continued, "Of course I sense that with a lot of people. Death is definite, after all, and it touches all of our lives. I'll be honest when I say that I never learn that much from my visions or even from contacting normal spirits, but it's always been enough to give people closure. I digress. The first time I met you, I had this sense, naturally, that you had lost somebody important to you. I didn't give it much thought in relation to this case. But when I heard that your last name was Ackerman and with the vision I saw just now, it suddenly makes sense. The person close to you that you lost was a little sister. Mikasa Ackerman."

"It's true." Levi responded, choosing his words with care. He stared at his clamped hand for a second before adding, "She was my little sister, two years younger."

"So that means that you were a senior student when the incident occurred." Hanji concluded, after a moment's thought.

Without speaking, Levi nodded his head.

"Why didn't you mention that in the beginning?" Hanji's eyes narrowed. "It would have been pretty nice to know this sooner."

Levi stared at Hanji through the corner of his eye, before simply stating, "You're a medium. I assumed you would have just figured it out on your own."

Being a good sport about things, Hanji chuckled. "I'm not that great at it, I guess. I've always been biting off more than I can chew. I kind of over-estimate my own power."

"You're alright, though." Levi was unexpectedly quick to retort. "We're learning more now than we would have without you."

Hanji grinned, suddenly feeling re-energized by the positive words. "Well, I guess my one redeeming quality is that I never stop until the job is done!"

Before anybody got a chance to say anything else, there was a small bit of rustling from the neighbouring bed. Moblit was shuffling around and tightened his eyes slightly.

"Looks like Moblit is waking up." Hanji commented, glancing at him.

"He might not admit this but," Levi murmured so only Hanji could hear, "he fainted a bit when you got knocked out. You're probably going to end up giving him an aneurism before this is over."

Hanji laughed quietly.

Moblit slowly lifted his head and gazed forward through squinted eyes. "H...Huh? Levi... And Hanji-san...?" He mumbled, and then suddenly, as if his memories returned to him, he nearly jumped out of the bed to exclaim, "Oh thank goodness! You're okay! How do you feel?"

Hanji turned to face Moblit and smiled brightly. "I was a little dizzy when I woke up but I feel much better now. A little tired, surprisingly."

"You should sleep some more." Levi cut in. He stood from the bedside and turned to Moblit. "You should wash up. There's a bathroom here with a small shower."

"But..." Moblit cut in, timidly. "I didn't bring an extra set of clothing with me... I didn't think I'd be here for long."

"There's a washer and dryer in the life skills room. I can take your clothing there to have it washed while you shower."

"Oh, are you sure? I don't want to be of any trouble."

"It's fine. Better than you stinking up the place." Levi sighed.

Things went by quickly after the conversation ended. Moblit had hurried in the shower-room, and given his clothing to Levi. He held the pile in his arms as he gave Hanji one last serious look.

"Just stay in bed and don't pull any weird shit while I'm gone. If something happens then just scream or smash a vase or something and I'll be back."

Hanji raised a hand to forehead level and jokingly chanted, "Aye aye, captain!"

The conversation had ended there, and Levi had immediately left with Moblit's clothing in hand.

The room was silent after the slamming of the infirmary door. A moment passed, and the sound of water running in the shower could be heard.

Eyes closed tightly, Hanji mentally counted to twenty. After reaching the last number, the medium quickly sat up and threw the blankets off of the bed.

"As if I'm going to lay around while something exciting is happening outside of these doors." Hanji hummed quietly, while shoving on a pair of shoes.

Upon opening the door, Hanji cautiously stuck their head out and glanced both ways. Long, stringy pieces of hair bobbed along with the medium as they took a step out of the infirmary and remained silent while shutting the door.

Quiet as a mouse, Hanji tip-toed forward and took a moment to observe the hallway. Levi was nowhere in sight, but never-the-less, a strong presence was looming nearby. Locating it's exact position was a bit of a struggle for the medium, but it could clearly be felt. Almost like a harsh breath down the nape of the neck, it was a sort of unpleasant and ominous feeling that was nearby.

Regardless of the discomfort in the air, Hanji continued to wander the halls with caution. To somebody who was unfamiliar with the schools, the hallways could be confusing. The classroom numbers didn't go in order, and the use of numbers and letters seemed to be random. Though, it could be assumed that it was just part of the schools charm- rather than something supernatural.

Turning the corner, Hanji was unexpectedly thrown face-to-face with a very peeved looking Eren Jaeger. Immediately, the medium stopped in their tracks and stared wide-eyed at the boy, who glared back in return.

His lips were tightly clenched and his brows furrowed deeply. "Where's Armin?" His voice was kept low. "Do you know where he is?"

Hanji's head shook. "I'm sorry, Eren. I haven't seen him. Is everything alright?"

"No." Eren looked to the ground. "He never leaves for this long. I thought he might be in the library because he likes to study in there, but when I checked, he wasn't. The classroom is empty too, and he never hides from me or Mikasa."

"Well, where is Mikasa?" Hanji asked.

"Checking the second floor for him." Eren answered. He glanced around the hallway. "It's been over an hour. I think he's avoiding us."

A bit of silence passed.

"Could I ask you a question?" Hanji choose each word carefully and spoke slowly. "Why don't you like to be separated from Armin? I noticed it in the classroom as well- you don't seem to like when he's speaking to other people for more than a few minutes."

"No, you're wrong." Eren was quick to deny. "It's just with the living people. If they say something wrong, then... then they might upset him. The living people don't know how to deal with him. He's still not aware of what's going on here."

Hanji leaned against the wall and stared off into the distance. "I think that he's more aware than you think, Eren. He's a smart kid, he catches on quickly."

"But he forgets everything, even if he figures it out." Eren retorted. "He and Marco are the only ones who don't seem to fully be aware of the fact that we're dead. Everyone else has the clue by now. Armin is smart, and he figures it out given time, sure, but he always forgets. And he seems happier when he doesn't realize it. I know it's wrong of me to say this, or to want things like this, but I just prefer that he doesn't know."

"So you're already aware of this fact yourself?"

Eren nodded his head. "I knew it before you even made an appearance here. I kind of remember dying, but not all that much."

Hanji suddenly perked up, and stared the boy intently in the eyes. "Really? What exactly do you remember? Please, tell me everything."

"It's hazy... I remember being angry, though. I tried to hit someone, but I think they hit me first. Then, I remember staring at the ceiling." Eren explained, his face grew increasingly more red with each word. The topic was proving to have a hard effect on him, and it was clear.

Putting a supportive hand on Eren's shoulder, Hanji smiled gently. "It's okay, Eren. I'll help you find Armin." The medium re-assured.

_He's still closing himself off from me- I'm not even getting the tiniest glimpse of a vision right now. Though even if he had one to offer, he's already explained everything he remembers about dying to me. If he remembered who did it, I'm certain he would have told me. This seems to be a sensitive topic for him, naturally, so I'm certain that whoever it was, he would not think very fondly of. _

Eren took a deep breath. "Alright. Thanks."

Hanji smiled and the two began to silently walk down the hall. Not even a moment passed by before Eren asked, "Why are you here anyway? You said you were our teacher but you only showed up to class once."

With an awkward laugh, Hanji scratched the back of their head and responded, "Ah well, you know, I got a bit of an injury last night that knocked me out for awhile, so I suppose class is post-poned on account of that."

"Oh." Eren responded simply. "I was beginning to think you might be a medium or something."

"Well, actually-" Hanji had been in the middle of answering when a new voice suddenly over powered.

"Eren!" It had been Armin, followed by Erwin and Mike.

"Armin!" Eren exclaimed in return. The two rushed to each other, and when they met in the middle, they embraced each other tightly. "Where were you, Armin?"

The smaller of the boys took a second to catch his breath. "In the basement with Mr. Smith and Mr. Zacharias." Armin explained as he pulled away from the hug. "We found a lot of things down there! All of our school bags! Oh... but..." His voice suddenly drifted off.

"But?"

"But Sasha and Connie showed up, and took yours. I was holding it for you, because I thought you'd want to see your things again, but they were there before we even realized and took some of the bags." Armin frowned. "I'm sorry... They didn't seem to touch Mikasa's or mine, though... I don't understand why they'd want yours."

Eren's face suddenly lost all colour. He took a step back and shrugged his shoulder casually. "It's okay, Armin. I don't need my bag. I never cared much about it, anyway. I'm just glad you're okay."

Armin smiled gently. "Where's Mikasa?"

"She's on the second floor looking for you."

"Oh... I feel kind of embarrassed, having made the two of you worry like this."

Hanji took a step forward. "Well then, I hate to cut in but shall we go to the infirmary and check all of these out?"

"Yes, let's hurry. We don't want to risk losing anything else that's valuable to us." Erwin agreed.

Erwin, Mike, and Hanji began to make their way to the infirmary but Eren and Armin stayed behind an extra moment to talk.

"Did they say or do anything weird while you were down there?" Eren asked, his voice quiet. He looked behind him to make sure the others weren't listening. "You could tell me if they did."

Armin shook his head. "No, it was a little scary, I guess, because the basement is so old and dark. But they're both so nice, so I felt comfortable. And... You should come with us to the infirmary to check the bags out... Maybe we'll find something important."

"Important? What do you mean?"

"Um, you know," Armin shifted awkwardly about. "Something to explain what happened to us. Mr. Smith told me that I'm getting better at remembering things. Maybe if I see something than I can finally remember everything. Do you think it's possible?"

Eren tilted his head slightly as gave thought to the question. "I guess so, I don't really know how any of this works. I'm willing to give my help, though. I want to know everything too."

"So you'll come with us?!" Armin's face lit up.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna get Mikasa first, I'll see you there." Eren replied with a faint smile. With that, he was gone.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes had passed by that time, and everybody had regathered in the infirmary. Moblit, Mike, Levi, and Erwin sat on one bed, and Hanji, Eren, Armin, and Mikasa sat on the neighbouring bed. Since there were eight bags left, each person had one to look through. Armin and Mikasa looked through their own, and everybody else had a random one.<p>

After having flipped through the pages of the notebooks in each of their assigned bags it was realized that Moblit had Annie's bag, Mike had Marco's, Erwin had Krista's, Levi had Sasha's, Eren had Connie's, and Hanji had Ymir's.

"So far we've learned that Sasha and Connie didn't take their own bags. But why? Isn't that what they wanted?" Erwin stated thoughtfully. "It must mean that they're trying to cover for someone who has a missing bag."

At that comment, Eren angrily responded, "Then why would they take mine?! I didn't do anything wrong."

"Maybe it was a mistake, then." Hanji cut in, staring at a white sheet of paper that they held in their hand. "Maybe Connie and Sasha mistakingly thought that the bag belonged to someone else. I'm not sure why, but they're trying to cover for someone else, and I think I know who that person is."

Everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing and stared at Hanji expectantly.

"What? Did you find something?" Levi was the first to speak.

"Yes." Hanji responded with eyebrows raised. "It's a photo, but I can't see or hear anything when I touch it. I guess you could say that it speaks for itself."

The group was quick to surround Hanji and stare at the photo in curiousity. There were a few murmured comments, and some sounds of confusion.

The photo featured two young males. The first was unfamiliar to everybody in the room. He wore a dark hooded sweater and was facing the other male, Bertholdt Hoover. In the photo, Bertholdt's body faced the man, but his head was tilted towards the camera, with his gaze over his shoulder. He held a brown package in his hand, and was holding it out to the other man.

It was clear that the photo had been taken from a distance, and slight shrubbery on the corner of the picture proved that whoever took the photo had been hiding. Judging by the look on Bertholdt's face, he didn't know he was having his photo taken either.

"What's this?" Moblit asked.

"It looks like blackmail." Armin was the first to state.

Hanji's head nodded. "I was thinking the same thing, and I found it in Ymir's bag."

Taking the photo from Hanji's hands and bringing it closer to his own face, Levi asked, "So we're to assume that Ymir was blackmailing Bertholdt?"

"We've confirmed that the missing bags are Eren's, Jean's, Reiners, and Bertholdt's." Erwin explained. "So if Ymir has blackmail against Bertholdt, and his bag is missing, then we can easily assume that he is the key to answering this mystery."

"Right." Hanji thoughtfully placed a finger on chin. "Which is why I think Eren's bag must have been taken by mistake. Ymir's bag holds this piece of evidence that could be used against Bertholdt, and his bag also disappeared along with the others. So, could it be that Connie and Sasha are protecting his image? I'm sure there is a reason why, but regardless, we need to see Bertholdt."

Hanji broke out into an excited grin. "There's something that he's hiding, and we're going to figure out what it is!"


End file.
